The Darker side of Good
by phantomgamer01
Summary: A new set of Dragoons must face off against an enemy that not even the heroes of the Second Dragon Campaign could defeat. In the balance hangs the future of all Endiness. (PG-13 for violence)
1. Prologue

The characters used in this that featured in the game "Legend of Dragoon" are in no way my property and I take no credit for designing and creating them.  
  
Author: Ok.this is my first post on Fanfiction.net so don't get mad if it is pretty bad, if it is.tell me so I can fix it. Anyway, the prologue starts off the day after the death of Zieg, Frahma, and Rose and the end of the Second Dragon Campaign. The Dragoons were invited to the Crystal Palace to attend a banquet in their honor and allow the Heroes to rest.  
  
Prologue: Death of the Old  
  
Dart, Shana, Miranda, Haschel, Meru, Albert, and Kongol all entered the shining throne room of Deningrad's Crystal Palace and proceeded to kneel before the throne of Queen Theresa. The glare of the sun through the famous crystal walls would have been blinding to the heroes of the Second Dragon Campaign had this been their first visit.  
  
"Please stand heroes" spoke the soft voice of Queen Theresa "It is my pleasure to welcome the heroes who saved Endiness."  
  
"Thank you Your Majesty" Dart replied being the very first to stand then one by one the rest of Dragoons and Shana followed suite. "And thank you for allowing us to stay here for the night and for the lovely banquet"  
  
"I second that!" Shouted out Hashel as the martial arts master rubbed his stomach in bliss remembering the feast of the previous night.  
  
The Queen chuckled indiscreetly and continued to ask the question that had been the reason that she asked them to appear before that day.  
  
"So." she began "Now that you have dealt with the recent problem, what will you do?"  
  
Queen Theresa chuckled again at the puzzled perceptions of the Dragoons. Obviously they hadn't given it much thought. Each of the 7 Heroes had a different expression on their face, some puzzled, some excited at the thought, and some didn't seem to care.  
  
"I guess I'll go to see if the Winglies in our forest want to come out after all this time and meet some actual humans for the first time in 10000 years" Said Meru  
  
"I will continue my quest to find my daughter" said Haschel queitly  
  
"I have a kingdom that I must run, and now that I have time, I think that I will probably start planning for a Serdian Holiday in Honor of Lavitz" Stated Albert  
  
"Kongol don't know what to do, I am the last of my people. Maybe Kongol should just return to Home of Gigantos" Stuttered Kongol  
  
"Well" Shana started to blush "I would like to start a family now, if you don't mind Dart." Shana managed to get out through her cherry red blushing and timid muttering. Her timidity made Dart chuckle a little.  
  
"I was planning on checking around Endiness to make sure there are no more Virage out there. After all, now that we have the moon-child again." Dart passed a glance at Shana "we can awaken them and destroy them before they make trouble. That is.if you don't mind Shana." Dart turned to Shana.  
  
"I don't mind" Said the now perked up Shana "I know that now that I am with you again, I'll be safe" She walked over and wrapped her arms around his right arm and hung on him.  
  
"I guess my search can wait a little longer" Added Hachel  
  
"Kongol have nothing better to do, so I go with you" Said Kongol  
  
"Serdio has waited this long for me, but my duty as Dragoon comes first" Stated Albert  
  
"Well, I won't be the only one left behind, I'm comin' too" Shouted Meru  
  
"Okay, then you will all be going I trust" Said Theresa "Good Luck to you all"  
  
"Wait a sec" Interupted Miranda "I'm not going. I'm staying here to fulfill my duty as a Sacred Sister of Mille Seseau. It's bad enough that I've been gone this long and I still would like to be here to help undo the damage done by the Divine Dragon."  
  
Queen Theresa partially expected this from the hot-headed Sacred Sister. Miranda had an attachment to Mille Seseau and the people thereof partially because it had been this community that had welcomed her after her mother abandoned her. However, even though Theresa didn't have the heart to tell the Sister that she shouldn't stay, Albert had a very different view on the matter.  
  
"What do you mean your not going? Exploded Albert "You have a duty to not just Deningrad or even all Mille Seseau but to all Endiness. You are a Dragoon and that should come first before all things. There are three other Sacred Sisters and a Queen they will look after this City while we go to Kashua."  
  
"Look, Albert" Retaliated Miranda "I understand that it is okay with you to leave behind your country to go fight, but I do not feel the same okay? So back off"  
  
Miranda shook her fist at Albert and then the two began to argue for what seemed like an endless amount of time. The rest of the party all began to sigh in relief waiting for it all to blow over. Each of them were sure Albert would have his way, after all he was gifted with the tongue even if people soon got tired of his long-winded answers and explanations.  
  
The fight seemed to be getting to it's peak when the unexpected happened. The White Silver Dragoon spirit began to emit a bright glow that consumed Miranda's body. All of the Dragoons were in shock for a little while until the Spirit began to suddenly levitate into the air above Miranda. At this point they understood, the White Silver Dragon Spirit had moved on from Miranda, what they didn't know was who would be it's next choice.  
  
Shana looked on excitedly hoping against hope that the Dragon Spirit would once again choose her now that she was in no more danger from Frahma. Vivid thoughts of her and Dart fighting side-by-side again made her almost want to faint.  
  
The Spirit slowly levitated over Shana and then dropped into her waiting hands. Shana whispered a soft "thank you" under her breath and Miranda sighed in relief.  
  
"So," The now even more excited Shana brought up "When do we leave?" ==========================================================================  
  
The six Dragoons entered the frozen waist land known as the Kashua Glacier. The all walked into a small cave that they had found (with the exception of Meru, who was trying to build up her magic endurance) and they all sat down.  
  
"So Dart" Began Albert "How exactly do you plan on finding out if there are any Virage here?"  
  
"Well, in the past all of our battles with the Virage outside of the Moon, were awakened by the presence of Shana" Dart said "so I figure that we can either wait around for a while and see if they come out, or see if Shana can call out to them and lure them here."  
  
The group of Dragoons thought for a moment and based solely on the cold, decided to attempt if Shana could call any Virage in the area. After a short rest and a little lunch, the Dragoons walked out into the snowfields and prepared, Sprits in hand and surrounded Shana.  
  
"Wish me luck Dart" Said Shana as she smiled. Her smile was returned with a warm smile from Dart also. "Okay, let's give this a shot"  
  
Shana shut her eyes and began to concentrate on the Virage. She focused on their every aspect that she knew and envisioned them in her mind. Her body began to glow pale blue and the aura that surrounded her was enough to even block out the cutting cold of the Glacier. After she realized that the glow had surrounded her she knew that she made contact, she reached out to mind and seconds later the ground began to shake.  
  
"Ok, it's coming" Screamed Dart over the chilling winds.  
  
Simultaneously, five of the six Dragoons transformed leaving only Shana who was still trying to complete calling the Virage to their location. The five transformed warriors hovered in the spots they had just stood in, all in the glinting armor of the Blue Sea, Violet, Jade, Gold, and Divine Dragoons.  
  
Soon the beast came to the surface, and Shana initiated her transformation. The familiar bright glow came from the spirit and cloaked her in the armor of the healer dragoon, the White Silver Dragoon, her bow in hand she braced herself for battle.  
  
The Virage fully emerged from the snow about ten yards from where the Dragoons were hovering and they all took flight. The Grey titan that had once been the tool of the Winglies in the first Dragon Campaign reared it's headless torso to reveal it's one eye and vertical slit for a mouth.  
  
After the beast stood at full stature, the Dragoons prepared.  
  
The Virage took the first swing, aiming immediately at the strongest of the Dragoons, Dart: the Divine Dragoon. Dart easily darted upward to avoid the attack, and thus the battle commenced. Meru went in first, dragging her large hammer behind her, she dove under the creature and went through it's legs ending up behind it. She came up to the back of it's knee and landed a massive strike sending it down to one knee. The Virage retaliated and swung back at her, but she easily dodged, and followed up with a beam ice magic freezing the creatures whole lower leg to the ground.  
  
From a distance, Shana was next. She focused the light energy around her into an arrow and fitted it into her bow. She took aim at the creature's eye and fired the beam of light. The Virage was quick to spot her attack, and fired a large beam of energy originating from it's eye that immediately destroyed the arrow and went on towards Shana. Not being used to battle, Shana froze up in panic and watched the oncoming laser.  
  
"Shana, watch out!!!!" Dart Screamed as he sped to intercept the oncoming laser. He arrived just in time to reach Shana right before the laser did and turned his back to it taking in the full impact of it. A moment of pain shot through Dart's system, but the armor did more than enough to preserve his life.  
  
"Thank you Dart" Shana smiled "I'm okay now."  
  
Shana called for another light arrow and fitted it to her bow. Shana rolled in mid air to the right and fired her second shot at the Virage's eye. The beast screamed in pain as it's blue blood oozed from it's now open eye, but got no compassion from Hashel, who was the next Dragoon in line for his attack. He flew over the Virage and landed on top of it. He held up his hand and a bolt of violet lightning shot from the sky to his hand.  
  
"Take that!!!!" Hascel cried as he slammed his fist onto the Virage's forehead and the bolt of lightning sprung from his hand into the creature's body causing it to convulse and spray out a stream of blood onto the snow.  
  
At this point the Virage was swinging blindly at it's foes hoping for the hits it wasn't getting. Kongol stepped up to the plate now and flew into the path of one of the arms, he brought back his fierce axe and cleaved right through the right arm of the Virage, causing yet another opening in which it's blood gushed forth. Kongol turned around and did the same to the other arm of the Virage.  
  
The now helpless creature did all it could do. It squealed in pain as it's blood, it's source of life flowed freely out of him. Albert saw this as the time to end the battle and began to spin his spear in front of him. From the spinning spear emerged a small typhoon that broke off the frozen leg of the Virage and lifted it steadily up into the air. He held this position and turned to Dart signaling to end the battle.  
  
Dart raised the cannon on his left arm in front of him, and watched as the pale purple energy swirled around and eventually entered to barrel of the cannon. He sought to end the creature's misery right here, right now.  
  
"Divine Dragon Cannon!" Screamed Dart as a large bluish purple beam fired from the barrel of the cannon. The Virage sensed the end coming near and struggled even more to free itself, but to no avail. The energy beam hit the Virage in mid air disintegrating it instantly.  
  
The smoke cleared and there was nothing left.  
  
The six Dragoons all landed down on the ground and depowered, a little tired, but all excited.  
  
"Well" Started Dart "it seems that, that is that. It's been fun."  
  
The other five Dragoons all agreed and began to say their final farewells before they all went their separate ways.  
  
In the midst of the snow not far away they heard a female voice.  
  
"What, leaving so soon?" The mysterious voice called out. "The fun has just started."  
  
A medium sized woman stepped into view on the snowfield and approached the Dragoons. Her hair was crystal blue and she wore a pair of jeans and a crimson long sleeved shirt. They all were taken aback by the fact that that she was here, but even more that she had a 2-foot blade in her right hand and she looked prepared for battle.  
  
"Who are you?" Dart was the first to ask the question on all of their minds  
  
"Call me Bellana" The mysterious woman said.  
  
"So what do you want with us?" Asked Dart.  
  
"I want the tool that will help me exact my revenge on all you pitiful humans," she said coldly, then she turned to Meru "and you cowardly winglies"  
  
All of the Dragoons were startled by her words. They had no idea what she was babbling about, or more so, why she knew that the winglies were still alive. The looks of surprise on her face made Bellana smirk.  
  
"What do you mean?" Dart asked curiously. He figured that maybe she was crazy or had some ill reason for wanting to destroy the humans, but something deep down told him she was not from this generation. He felt from the Divine Dragoon Spirit that it knew her well and seemed to be happy to see her.  
  
"Well" Bellana began as she started pacing "I am the sorceress that created the Divine Dragoon"  
  
"WHAT???" Simultaneously all the Dragoons reacted in shock  
  
"Yes" She replied angrily "I am the one who brought life to the Divine Dragon, however, it was the Dragoons of old who wanted me to create the beast. When they found it was too powerful, they sealed it away with the help of the Winglies, then they sealed me away too fearing that my power was too great. When the Divine Dragon was set free, so was I, and I began to plot my revenge. Now, all I need is the Spirit of the Divine Dragon itself and I will have all I need to exact my revenge. So." he turned and stared at Dart coldly "give me the Spirit"  
  
"Never!" said Dart sternly "we are the Dragoons! Our job is to protect Endiness, not hand the future of it over to you. We destroyed your creation, and we'll destroy you if necessary!"  
  
"Very well then." Said Bellana  
  
Suddenly Bellana jumped into the air blade raised, and came down swinging with all the momentum. Dart was quick to realize this and drew his blade. The two warriors clashed in colossal fury, constantly striking and evading, parrying and dodging.  
  
Dart went in for a risky stab, counting on Bellana to be inexperienced with the sword. He was wrong however, Bellana easily dodged the strike raising her blade into the air. She brought it down with the intent of cutting him in half, but Dart was also experienced with the sword, he swung his body around to block the attack. A combination of his lack of grounding and the power of her swing sent Dart into the ground holding off her blade, but barely. Dart pushed her off and she jumped back a couple of feet and Dart reached his feet.  
  
She lowered her blade and smirked. Dart gave a puzzled look, as far as he could tell the fight could go anyway, and he still hadn't called on the Dragoon Spirit.  
  
Bellana brought her right hand up to her throat and drug it across her neck. She then held out her hand and let out a devilish giggle. Her hand suddenly began to grow purple, and then a lightning bolt struck Dart as quickly as her hand began to glow. Dart found himself paralyzed, and very much afraid.  
  
His companions however figured it had been a regular lightning bolt and Dart had endured the shock. They kept on cheering not knowing the trouble Dart was really in.  
  
Bellana slowly walked behind Dart and turned her back to him. She backed up close enough so he could hear her whsper.  
  
"This all works out fine for me anyway. After all, the only way to make sure that the Dragon will not respond to the Dragoon that controlled before." She whispered like iron. Dart's eyes grew wide, he knew now his life was in true danger but he could not move his mouth to shout to his friends. ".is to kill the previous Dragoon."  
  
With one easy flip of the wrist, Bellana's sword broke off into about twelve stout parts of the blade all held together by a steel chain making it into a sort of bladed whip. Bellana jumped and spun into the air and swung the whip making it wrap around Dart's throat multiple times. The still paralyzed Dart by now could only be sorry he had been so careless, his thoughts then went to Shana and how much he cared for her. Bellana then whip lashed the sword and the once brave and noble Dragoon fell to the ground bleeding from all sides of his neck. He lay there drowning in his own blood when Bellana picked up the Divine Spirit. The Spirit began to glow in her hand a bright light surrounded her body. The power of her creation surged through her body and she felt even stronger than ever. When the light faded she was there hovering on 7 silver wings. Her armor was not as thick as thick as Dart's, but it was good enough. In her right hand materialized a blade similar to the one she carried before, only it had crimson lining all up and down the blade and the hilt curled down and connected to the bottom of it making it hard to lose it in a fight.  
  
All of the other Dragoons were in shock. The death of their beloved leader and friend was so much to bear, but it the worst for Shana. Immediately she transformed and charged in blind rage, the death of her loved one was simply too much for her. The other Dragoons knew that Shana had no chance alone especially now that Bellana had acquired the Divine Dragoon Spirit, they're only choice now was to follow and hope their combined might, would be enough. One by one the Technicolor light show began and from each pool of radiance emerged a Dragoon already flying after Shana.  
  
Bellana saw the Dragoons come, but all she could do was laugh.  
  
"Pitiful worms" She said to herself. She raised the cannon on her left arm and the swirl of energy gathered at the barrel of the cannon. At that point the Dragoons looked death right in the face.and that face was the last thing they saw.  
  
(Ok, I know what you were thinking.yes this really is only a prologue. Other writers might just say that the Dragoons all died at the hands of Bellana, but this is more fun. I don't think that my other chapters will be this long, but I just started so I don't know. 


	2. A Bleak Reality

Author: Ok, now that the unnecessarily long prologue is over, I can get on with the story. Enjoy.  
  
Chapter 1: A Bleak Reality  
  
"Come on dad, you can do it." A young boy thought to himself hiding amongst the ashes of an already burnt down building. "You can beat this guy, you're the best swordsman I know."  
  
The young boy watched from the sidelines as he watched his father fight with the warrior that had the power to make even the city of Furni begin to burn to the ground. He looked around once more to see the dried river bed that once was the source of transportation throughout the city and nearly cried. He began to watch again as the mysterious warrior flew around in circles on dead and skinless wings.  
  
To his shock and dismay he watched with a sickening stomach as his father uselessly attempted to ward off the predator that had ruined his city. He then watched in horror as the warrior struck his father down without any problem. All he could make out of the warrior as it flew away was the total lack of health that it showed, it's skin seemed dull and it's bones could be seen through it's skin. The 9 year old boy was paralyzed with fears he watched the heartless warrior just fly away, he then ran to his dying father and heard his last words.  
  
"Take care of yourself, remember what I taught you, you will be okay." The boy's father whispered his last words and handed the charred sword to his son, with that he shut his eyes, and fell to the sleep that had claimed so many in the city already.  
  
"Daddy NOOOOO!!!!!!!" The boy screamed out and began to weep like never before, he knew now that he was alone.  
  
Rey awoke in cold sweat, he sat up on the pile of hay he had been sleeping on. It seemed that no matter how many times he experienced that dream, it never got any easier to bear. It had been ten long years since the day Furni had burned to the ground by the hands of the mysterious warrior from his nightmare. For the past ten years, Rey had been among the few survivors of the attack and had been living underground for the time being. No one dared to come to the surface except to hunt for food, anyone that had lingered had never come back, and those who had seen what happened to those who lingered came running back. There wasn't much to see at the surface anyway, the once great city of Furni with it's ever flowing river had coincidentally been burned to the ground. All there was up there was ash, ruins, and Kamuy. No one knew why the wolf that had once been a cuddly pet to a town kid, suddenly went nuts, grew to a large size and gone berserk. As far as he knew, it had happened once before but the Dragoons from before were there and had dealt with it.  
  
"This is no good" Said Rey to himself "I'll never go back to sleep now."  
  
Rey stood up and dusted off the hay that held on to him. He stood at about five feet and nine inches and wore some frayed jeans and an old red tee shirt, both in bad condition because they had once belonged to one of the older men who outgrew it. Rey wasn't of a very large build but it worked to his advantage because his enemies underestimated his skill due to his size and youth. He walked over to the end of the room careful not to step on any of the others that slept in this crowded room. When he reached the edge of the room, he grabbed his sword and navigated his way through the catacombs of Furni into the training hall.  
  
Rey stood in the middle of the room, and unsheathed his sword. He took a moment to marvel at the blade his father had handed down to him during his last breaths. The blade was steel and very sturdy showing that it had been well made. The hilt however was the interesting thing, it was made of a chrome metal that was laced with warm burgundy linings twisting into designs all up and down it and at the center of the crosspieces, lodged in place was a circular red ruby that looked like the eye of a serpent. Whenever Rey gazed into the ruby, his soul lit with a burning passion that ignited his will to fight. The origin of the jewel was unknown to Rey, the ruby had been there since his father wielded it, he had also never really held it, being partially intimidated of it yet Rey had no desire to remove it.  
  
Rey firmly grasped the hilt of the blade and begun his practice session. He was truly experienced and very skilled for his age. He wielded a sword almost like a true master of the craft, however it seemed that way only to the eye of one untrained in the art of combat. Rey himself knew that he had much to learn, every swipe, stab, strike, and evade he did with the full intent of someday avenging his father.  
  
Eventually the dim light of the surface found it's way into the catacombs and people began to awaken, the sun was up and it was time to begin the daily routine of survival. Rey went back to his room and placed his sword in the corner almost unable to actually let it leave his grasp. He went out into the cafeteria for breakfast early to avoid waiting in line, he had never been fond of it and he didn't ever plan to be.  
  
Rey made his plate and went to sit down as all the other survivors of Furni began to file into the room. Along with the herding masses, came Cid, Rey's best friend since even before the attack ten years ago.  
  
"Cid" said Rey as Cid sat down beside him with his plate of morning meat. "You look like crap dude, did you stay up too late again?"  
  
"Shut up" Cid replied, the bags under his eyes made his whole face seem to droop.  
  
"I guess being allowed to drink is both a blessing, and a curse huh?" Joked Rey, since Cid was 20 he had been permitted to drink, however, he was also obligated to become a hunter.  
  
"Shut up" Replied Cid, even though he knew Rey was right. Cid took a bite a bite of his breakfast and his body shook with dislike. "I can take the hardest liquor we blend here, but I'll never get used to the taste of this stuff in the morning.  
  
Rey laughed, he felt the same way but also knew that it was the only way to make sure that there was food in the morning. Monster meat had been known to rot fast, the hunt of the afternoon was sure to rot over night if not kept in the Inide Chamber even though it made the food taste really bad.  
  
"Well, better it tastes like inide than rotten" Sadi Rey.  
  
The two got back to their food and began to eat. After breakfast Cid and Rey met at the door prepared to go their separate ways, Cid to the surface with the other hunters, and Rey to the advanced training courses.  
  
"I heard that someone is going on their first hunt today" Rey said to Cid.  
  
"Yeah, he turned twenty just this morning" Replied Cid "I don't think he is a good fighter though, he seems very paranoid about going to the surface"  
  
"Well, just make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Rey said, and with that the two went to their everyday jobs.  
  
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH" Rey heard a deafening scream coming from the catacombs and out of instinct rushed out to find it. Rey ran and ran hearing even more carnage and screams as he traveled. Eventually as he got closer to the ladder to the surface the walls began to be covered in blood. Rey ran faster and faster trying to figure out what was going on, but he knew it was not good.  
  
As he got closer to the entrance, his worst fear was confirmed. Laying in a gathering pool of his own blood lay Cid. Rey was faced with the grimmest thought that made up his worst fear as he ran through the hall. Rey began to feel weak but managed to make his way over to the body of his friend. He placed his forehead on his friends chest and began to weep.  
  
"Hey Man" Cid was able to make out, though he was weak, he was still alive. "Stop crying, your 19. Plus I'm not even dead."  
  
"Cid?" Rey pulled his head up in disbelief "Y-you're okay!!!" Rey embraced his friend and began to weep even harder. After a while he came to. "What happened, who or what did this?"  
  
Cid's expression changed to anger "You know that new hunter we were talking about earlier?"  
  
"Yeah"  
  
"Well, while we were hunting for food for the day we got attacked by Kamuy." Cid explained "well, that sissy moron panicked right away, and instead of fighting him to ward him off before returning down here, he ran straight for the entrance and brought Kamuy with him. The stupid kid got what he deserved, Kamuy pounced on him right as made it inside and, he knocked him to the ground and started ripping his spine out from the back. When we got here, he was already on rampage, we tried to fight him but he easily overpowered us."  
  
Rey was speechless at this point, the horror of the story was almost too much to bear, he didn't know what to do. He looked back down on his friend with pity.  
  
"Where were you wounded?" Rey asked.  
  
"My right shoulder" replied Cid. "He took a big bite from it and the only reason it's still there is because he went to chase someone else."  
  
Rey proceeded to remove Cid's shirt to examine the wound. He gasped when he saw it and began to check to see if he could repair it with his little knowledge of medicine. His shoulder was lined with small circles all about ¾ of an inch in diameter. Blood leaked from all of them and the pool steadily grew.  
  
"You'll be alright" Rey lied, he knew very well what was next and so did Cid.  
  
"Quit lying" Cid replied, he had now calmed down "You and I both know that I'm about to die, quit denying it."  
  
Rey swallowed the reality of the situation and tried to stop weeping.  
  
"You've been a great friend, I'm gonna miss you" Said Rey  
  
"Don't worry, not even death can break the bonds of our friendship...or some junk like that" Cid joked. They both laughed for a while and then got serious again. "No, but seriously, I'm sure you'll be okay, just get out of here before Kamuy finds you."  
  
"Okay, my friend" Rey  
  
Rey looked on as his friend drew his last breath and went still. He grabbed Cid's sword and placed it in his hands and crossed his arms over his chest. (Like Aragorn did to Boromir)  
  
"Good-bye"  
  
Rey stood to his feet and took his last look at his friend. He turned around and his heart skipped a beat. There, not five feet away stood the beast that had caused the deaths of so many. Kamuy stared at him with his pale blue eyes, a sick mix of blood and drool dripped from his mouth as he bared his teeth. The possessed once-wolf creature braced itself for battle giving Rey a chance to draw his sword.  
  
Rey unsheathed the blade his father passed down to him. He stared deeply into the crimson serpent eye ruby, the jewel seemed to stare back at him but into his soul. Rey took a fighting stance holding the blade out vertically in front of him.  
  
Rey knew he was in for the fight of his life. None of the other hunters had been able to take Kamuy even in groups, but now he had no choice. Rey faced true fear and the possibility of death, but he felt he couldn't have been more ready. 


	3. Facing the Beast

Author: Yay!!! I got my first review *confidence comes back* now I can get out of the corner of my room and write some more.  
  
Chapter 2: Facing the Beast  
  
Rey and Kamuy stared each other down for what seemed like an eternity. Rey spent his time trying to figure out what he was gonna do in this situation. After all, Kamuy had been notorious for killing off even the best of the hunters that weren't careful. Even through all this, he tried not to think of all those who Kamuy had killed, especially Cid, the last thing he needed now was blind rage.  
  
In an instant, Kamuy attacked pouncing through the air claws first going for a kill. Rey was caught off guard a little but reacted fast enough to side step right and turn. Rey brought down his sword with the intent of a kill, Kamuy was still ready. The wolf-like creature lunged forward and did a 180 turning completely around, but trying not to run into the walls of the small catacomb. Kamuy pounded again except not as high into the air, aiming at Rey's thigh. Rey barely managed to move, but Kamuy's claw still managed to cut through his denim belt line and graze his thigh.  
  
Rey instantly bent over, holding his right thigh with his left hand, he slowly turned around to see Kamuy in mid-air above him coming down for his throat. Rey let go of his wound and placed his second hand on the sword and swung with two hands the flat end of the blade collided with the side of Kamuy's face pelting him into the wall on Rey's left side.  
  
Kamuy got up and wiped the left side of his face with his paw and gave what looked like a devilish smirk. Rey caught the look, and grew afraid realizing the Kamuy had been holding back.  
  
"Ah, crap" thought Rey "he's got more to throw at me?" Rey frantically searched his mind for options, still trying to keep the fate of the survivors of Furni at the back of his mind.  
  
For a moment Rey forgot about Kamuy, a mistake that he paid for. Kamuy propelled himself through the air faster than before. At the new speed, Rey didn't have time to refocus on the battle and react fast enough. The first thing Rey felt was Kamuy's massive paws hit his body, then his back slam into the floor. Now pinned, Rey had no idea what to do, all he could do was frantically dodge the jaws of Kamuy that repeatedly went for the side of his neck.  
  
Rey was at a loss of ideas and knew that he could not hold off Kamuy much longer. Then, he had an idea..  
  
"Alright, here goes" thought Rey to himself. He allowed himself to think a little about the people of Furni that had been killed by the monster, not of anyone in particular, just faceless hunters that had dies at Kamuy's hands. He began to feel rage creep up to him with even that little amount of thought. "Sorry to do this to you man." Rey said out loud, and with that he gathered the small amount of rage he allowed himself and the little leverage he could gain and planted his shin right in Kamuy's genitals (this hurts me just typing it). Kamuy yelped in pain as he rose a good 6 inches off the ground courtesy of Rey's shin. Rey went to kick him again, but the creature decided against it and jumped back 3 good feet away from Rey.  
  
Rey got to his feet and prepared himself for the rest of the battle, but began to chuckle when he saw his opponent in what seemed almost like tears with his legs crossed so tightly he could barely stand.  
  
"Sorry man.." Rey said "But it was either your children, or me"  
  
Rey charged in, happy that the tides of the battle had finally turned. He brought his sword down intending to cleave Kamuy's head in two. Kamuy dodged off to the right and took his pouncing stance again, even though he could not stop quivering.  
  
"Ahh man, "Rey thought to himself "he wasn't supposed to recover so fast."  
  
Kamuy laid a smirk across his face. The puzzled Rey stood there trying to figure out what was going on but never letting his guard down. Kamuy turned around and jumped into the wall that he was now facing, and pushed himself off with greater speed than Rey had time to react, even at full awareness. The creature launched like a torpedo planning to even the score. Kamuy charged headfirst right into Rey's softspot causing the warrior to fall to his knees scrunched over, he had dropped his sword and now both hands covering his now violated family jewel.  
  
Kamuy began to do what sounded like laughing. The sight of Rey huddled on the ground was enough to make even the stone hearted killer laugh. However, soon he got a grip on himself and lumped at Rey with the intent of killing him.  
  
At this point, Rey spotted a stone right next to him the size of his hand. With his right hand he palmed the stone and prepared to throw it, still in the same position. While focusing on the intense pain Rey was in, he let down his mental guard for a split second, and in that split second, all the pains of losing all those he cared about flooded back into his immediate memory. As he looked up at the beast that had claimed so many and was now coming to claim him, his eyesight seemed to urn blood red. The pain in his lower body was replaced by the pain in his heart and his strength returned. Using this uncontrollable hate, he hurled the stone. It went flying through the air and slammed right into Kamuy's face. The creature tumbled to the ground temporarily stunned but not dead.  
  
Reyt stood up and grabbed his sword, squeezing the hilt as hard as he could. His breathing was hard and harsh , and his heart was full of hatred, his technique had been replaced by senseless rage, which is what he feared from the beginning, only now he didn't care.  
  
Kamuy soon stood up, but now his pale blue eyes turned the color of bright blood red. As he stood, he seemed to bury his own paws in the ground as he braced himself.  
  
The two fighters stared for a moment, allowing their anger to reach a boiling point.  
  
"For Cid..." Shouted Rey "and all the people you've killed for no reason. I'm going to kill YOU!!!!!" With that, the two fighters charged in their fury.  
  
Rey charged and took a low swing, attempting to sever the Kamuy's legs leaving him defenseless, however Kamuy was prepared for anything Rey through at him. Kamuy jumped slightly into the air and raised his legs to avoid losing them, then when the blade was under him, he slammed down pinning the blade to the ground. Rey's hands stayed with the blade when it got slammed down and has left hunched over, and totally defenseless. Kamuy took in a deep breath and raised his head. He brought his head down and blasted Rey with a strong gust into the wall with incredible force making the warrior drop his sword.  
  
Rey was blown into the wall and then fell to the ground unarmed but not defenseless. Kamuy pounced at Rey, hoping to kill him while Rey was off guard. Rey waited until Kamuy got close enough, as soon as Kamuy was within arms length, Rey swung forward with awesome force. Rey's fist collided with Kamuy in mid-air. The blow sent Kamuy back into the wall but he recovered quickly and pounced back. Rey rolled off to the right as Kamuy rammed into the wall with incredible speed. Rey scrambled over to his sword and picked it up.  
  
As soon as the blade was within his fingers, it raise itself up to his neck blocking it with flat side with Rey's hands still attached. Before Rey could react, he felt a pressure against his neck and saw Kamuy come flying over his shoulder.  
  
Rey realized quickly that Kamuy would have had gotten to his throat had the blade not moved itself to block it. Rey had no time to think about it because Kamuy bounced back again, always on the offensive. Rey's anger was aroused at this point.  
  
"You stupid Wolf!!!!!!" Rey swung hard and the blade hit.  
  
Kamuy stopped short, his face bleeding, and he was yelping in pain covering his face with one paw. Kamuy turned and ran before Rey could see where the blow had landed, Kamuy got to the ladder and quickly darted up it.  
  
"Where do you think your going?" screamed out Rey  
  
The young warrior followed hastily up the ladder, not willing to let this be the end of their fight.  
  
When Rey entered the daylight, he saw something that he had not expected, instead of seeing a trail of blood leading to a cowering animal, he saw Kamuy waiting for him out in the open. Kamuy stood there more angry than before with a large slash mark over his right eye.  
  
Rey got fully off the ladder and stood prepared for battle.  
  
Kamuy let out a howl that shook all of Rey's bones almost shattering his nerves. As he howled, a small circle of red energy swirled around Kamuy eventually enclosing him in the brilliant light. Rey stood in awe, the howl itself had removed his fury and he had come back to common sense.  
  
When the energy dissipated, Kamuy stood there slightly bigger than before, all his muscles bulging as if he were on horse steroids and all of his veins were almost popping out through his skin. His eyes had grown brighter, and Rey once again began to know fear.  
  
Rey gathered all the nerve he could muster and charged the beast. Kamuy smirked as the rash young man charged. Rey swung his blade sideways with all his might. Kamuy stood prepared and caught the blade in his massive jaws. Rey was stunned by the sudden turn of events, but even more so when Kamuy Rotated his head suddenly and snapped the blade right in two.  
  
Rey jumped back in disbelief, he figured Kamuy would be stronger, but not this much. The wolf however showed no mercy to the youth, he summoned up a hurricane the lifted Rey twenty feet into the air.  
  
Rey freaked out, after all, his blade was reduced to a the size of a jagged dagger, he was defenseless, and he was messing with a really pissed wolf with wind magic. Rey was sure that the impact would kill him instantly, and as the ground neared quickly he mustered the words "I'm sorry Cid, I couldn't avenge your needless death."  
  
Kamuy however, had other plans for his victim. As soon as Rey got within five feet of the ground, Kamuy charged and jumped towards the falling warrior. Kamuy began to move so fast that he seemed invisible and began striking Rey in midair from all sides.  
  
Rey let a scream as he felt unmatched pain come at him from all sides. He could see nothing but a blue streak moving quickly all around him, and his own blood flying through the air.  
  
The good thing was that Kamuy's interference slowed his descent to the ground, the bad thing was that he was in so much pain that he could barely move. Kamuy landed about five feet turned around. He laid down allowing the warrior to suffer in his agony before he ended it.  
  
Rey laid there sprawled along the ground bleeding from every part. His sword in his hand even though it was of no use to him. He laid there prepared to die thinking of all the things he had not done, all the things he had not accomplished, but most of all, he thought of his father who he had not been strong enough to avenge.  
  
As he laid there, mysteriously, the ruby in the hilt of his sword dislodged itself and rolled over to him. He slowly moved his hand to grab it as agony shot up through his body. He brought the ruby to his chest and muttered the words that he thought would be his last.  
  
"I'm sorry.father" Rey made out and shut his eyes.  
  
Kamuy got up from his rest and slowly began to walk over to Rey, not wanting to give him the privilege of a peaceful death.  
  
Rey laid there clasping the ruby waiting for the end, when suddenly the ruby began to pulse as if it were alive. Rey was startled and slowly opened his eyes.  
  
Rey.. Rey heard a mysterious voice in his mind I can help you, if you just open your mind  
  
"What?" Rey mumbled  
  
open your mind..  
  
Rey herd the footsteps of Kamuy getting closer "Well, I guess I have no choice"  
  
Rey cleared his thoughts and began focusing on the voice he heard. As he did, he began to feel warmth come from the ruby. Rey kept focusing, harder and harder curious to see what mystery the ruby beheld.  
  
Suddenly there was a bright light emitting from the ruby that filled Rey's eyes and stopped Kamuy in his tracks.  
  
that's it the voice told Rey  
  
The ruby suddenly pressed itself against Rey's chest and suddenly erupted in a bright light unlike anything Rey had ever seen before. Rey began to levitate until he was upright in the air. In his weakness his hand fell from the ruby, yet it stayed stuck on his chest.  
  
Flames began to pour over his body, yet oddly did not burn him. The flames worked their way all along his body and began to harden into crimson armor. Before he knew it, he was wearing a full breastplate of armor, guards on both of his upper arms, and his legs were covered in crimson leg armor. On his back, from the flames emerged two wings. Rey was stunned at the new change feeling power and confidence enter his being. The hilt of his sword then floated into the air and was consumed by the flames. From the flames the blade emerged, bigger and sturdier. The hilt was now completely red with gold lining, and in the center was a painted in version of the serpent- like crystal.  
  
The light faded and the new warrior hovered in the air staring at his adversary. Kamuy was shocked by the new turn, but not worried. The power Rey felt was incredible, even his wounds didn't bother him even though they were still present.  
  
The battle had taken a whole new tide, yet the fun had just began.  
  
Author: Alright, the first Dragoon has arisen, let's see who wins. For all of you who thought that Rey was the red-eyed, obviously...you were right. 


	4. A Fighting Chance

Author: Alright..the first Dragoon fight. Sorry it took so long to post, but my school gives an inhuman amount of homework EVERYDAY.  
  
Oh. And sorry to all of you who liked Cid earlier...but he's dead.too bad.  
  
Anyway...Kamuy vs. Rey, ROUND 2....  
  
Chapter 3: A Fighting Chance  
  
Rey floated courtesy of his new wings, he marveled in the splendor and the raw amount of power now surging through him. His eyes turned back to his opponent and he let off a smirk. Kamuy returned with a smirk of his own, he had seen this power before and new that his opponent was still in for a good fight, plus he still had a secret weapon that he didn't have against the other Dragoons ten years ago.  
  
Rey raised his sword and held it out so that it extended in front of him in his hand.  
  
"It is undoubtedly the will of Soa himself that blessed me with this new power" Rey grew serious and his muscles began to tensen up "And with it I will avenge all the needless deaths by you hands..PREPARE KAMUY, YOUR LIFE IS ABOUT TO COME TO AN END!!!!!"  
  
Kamuy ducked his head, and his body shook as if he were laughing, it was true that his opponent had become a Dragoon, but even Kamuy had the sense to realize that Rey hadn't had any experience as a Dragoon fighter.  
  
I'm sorry Cid that I gave up so soon thought Rey and that I could not help you before, but I swear that I will avenge your death, right here, right now  
  
Focus!!!!!!! The mysterious voice in his head boomed again Granted, your cause is just, but if you don't want to die then fight, and fight smart. Your friend is dead, and you will be too if you fight stupidly, even with this power, fighting Kamuy will be no easy task  
  
Ok. Rey thought in reply to the voice. He calmed down and began to think about the battle at hand I'm ready  
  
Kamuy lifted his head from it's previous position sensing that the winged warrior was now ready to fight again.  
  
Rey struck his fighting stance, and out of the corner of his eye, saw the sun setting.  
  
Crap he thought to himself If I don't hurry, the sun will set and I won't be able to see as well  
  
With that, Kamuy made the first move. He pounced through the air claws extended, ready to make mince-meat of it's new opponent. The movement this time seemed slower to Rey this time, his opponent seemed to be floating towards him rather than pelting himself at incredible speed. His senses had been heightened, and for once, he had a lot of time to react.  
  
When Kamuy's attack brought the wolf close enough, Rey moved off to the right and swung did an uppercut aiming for Kamuy's neck. The change of reflexes, and the change in the dynamics of his weapon made for a miss to the exact target, but Rey was still able to make contact with the underside of Kamuy's jaw sending the wolf back a good ten feet, however he still landed on his feet.  
  
How easy it was to move in his new form, and how easy it was to handle the wings and the weapon surprised Rey. He fixed his gaze back at his enemy, and made notice of the new wound he had left him, the underside of Kamuy's jaw was oozing blood that was quickly gathering in a small puddle underneath him.  
  
Kamuy realized that he had underestimated the power of a Dragoon in the hands of even an inexperienced warrior, no wonder the other Dragoons were able to defeat him as well as they did. Kamuy sunk into a defensive style pose, the Dragoon may be fast, however, he knew he was faster.  
  
Rey took this time to take the initiative and for once, go on the offensive. The Dragoon flew towards his opponent with alarming speed, Rey himself was taken by surprise at the little time it took to get over to Kamuy. His sword was raised and he made his way over to Kamuy.  
  
Rey brought his blade down with crashing momentum, attempting to make Kamuy into two symmetrical pieces. As his blade hit the ground, Rey did not feel Kamuy's body fall under the blade, all he felt was the sword hit the ground, and all he saw was the blood from the puddle left by Kamuy splash up into the air. The Dragoon hovered there off guard pulling his sword back, waiting for everything to settle so he could see what happened. He looked up after everything settled, and saw Kamuy standing just behind the where the blade had crashed, the expression on his face was completely focused, which was totally different than before.  
  
Incredible Rey thought to himself he's so fast, but why didn't he attack me?  
  
Rey also noticed at that time, that the sun was almost all the way over the horizon.  
  
Uh-oh Rey thought I had better finish this soon before it is too late. I've got about ten minutes before daylight ends, and then, I'll be in trouble.  
  
Rey charged forward again, he was beginning to get used to the speed, and was quickly learning to maneuver well as a Dragoon. He first slashed at Kamuy's legs attempting to remove them, Kamuy was quick to react and easily jumped over the blade. Rey swung again and again with his blade trying at least to hit the creature, but Kamuy had proven to be too good at evading. Every time Rey struck, Kamuy dodged right out of range, conserving strength and making a mockery of the Dragoon. With every strike however, the sun began to sink lower into the horizon, and Kamuy seemed to smirk even more with each fading sunbeam.  
  
After what seemed like forever of the futile attempt to defeat Kamuy on Rey's part, the sun finally went completely over the horizon. Rey struck downwards as the last beam of sunlight faded, but to no avail. What surprised Rey however, was that Kamuy jumped back a full ten feet rather than just a few centimeters away from the blade.  
  
Kamuy gave Rey a sinister scowl, piercing through Rey with his one still good eye. The cut over his eye, and the wound to his chin had stopped bleeding, and Kamuy came out of his defensive stance.  
  
Rey was confused to why Kamuy made the sudden change in styles. Even as he pondered though, the answer began to reveal itself.  
  
A small beam of moonlight streaked over Rey's shoulder. The Dragoon was puzzled at first, but didn't dare turn his back to Kamuy. After the first beam came another, and another, until his whole body was bathed in the moonlight and his surroundings lit up with the light.  
  
Rey, out of instinct turned around to see the impossible.  
  
"What?" Rey said aloud, not caring that he was talking to himself "The Moon..But.I could've sworn that it..fell ten years ago"  
  
Rey turned back to face Kamuy who had not budged from the position it was at before. Rey's face was filled with shock, he knew that he saw the moon fall before Furni was destroyed. What he didn't get was why it was back in the sky now.and shining brighter than ever.  
  
Kamuy took in a full breath of air and raised his head towards the moon, he let out another earth-shaking howl. The Moon for a second pulsated even brighter for an instant, then a large beam of light came down and bathed the wolf in the strange light as he howled.  
  
Rey covered his eyes from the blinding flash that erupted from Kamuy as soon as the beam hit the ground. When everything had settled and the light had faded, there stood Kamuy, all his wounds healed, and even more vitalized than before. He had shrunk back to the size he had been before he casted the boosting spell, but Rey was sure that Kamuy hadn't lost any power, in fact he was sure that Kamuy was now more of a threat than before.  
  
The now rejuvenated Kamuy smirked at the Dragoon. He knew that this new Dragoon would need a lot of skill and experience that he didn't have..so in short, Kamuy knew that the upper hand in the battle had shifted back to him.  
  
Kamuy let out a huge howl that knocked Rey off guard. With that Kamuy pounced again at the Dragoon. Rey recovered in time to figure out what was going on, however even with his new heightened senses, Kamuy seemed to be moving faster than before. Kamuy lowered his head in mid air and rammed into Rey in mid air, his head collided his Rey's armor and knocked Rey out of the air right onto the ground.  
  
The blow was mostly absorbed by the armor, but Rey still felt enough of the impact to have the wind knocked out of him.  
  
Crap thought Rey He's faster than before, now he even looks fast in this new form  
  
Rey rolled back and pushed himself off the ground into the air just in time to dodge the paw of Kamuy land crashing down right where his head had been. He gripped his weapon and charged after Kamuy cross swinging his sword. Kamuy jumped slightly out of the way and recovered off to Rey's right, as soon as he touched the ground he lounged himself at Rey's right thigh. Rey turned in time to guard with his forearm, but making his weapon useless in a position that would have won the fight if Kamuy had only attacked is other side. Rather than falling to the ground, Kamuy seemed to continue pushing his way against Rey's arm. Rey turned to face Kamuy and added the help of his other arm leaning against Kamuy's force.  
  
The two hovered there in a test of strength, interlocked, and unwilling to give in to the force of the other. Rey began to beat his wings harshly and quickly trying to gain the upper hand, but in doing so he lost his rhythm and began to lose ground in to Kamuy. Kamuy capitalized on the opportunity, and exhaled another gust of wind, except this one was much more powerful than it was in the cave.  
  
Rey went flying through the air, helpless due to the power of Kamuy's magic. Before long he rammed into a some of the ruin that was all that was left of Furni. The impact shook him up and he opened his eyes to see Kamuy charging at him. By now Rey had finally learned to be ready at all times because he was sick of being caught off guard. He side-stepped off to the left and swung his weight into a spinning kick. His foot collided with Kamuy's jaw sending him back.  
  
Rey chased after Kamuy, and for once was able to catch his opponent off guard. He slashed upwards opening a large slash wound going from his chest to his shoulder. Rey pulled back and did a front kick, stunning his opponent in mid-air, leaving his chest wide open.  
  
Finally Rey thought an opening  
  
Rey flew back in a loop-de-loop with his sword out in front of him. He came back around after gaining the momentum with Kamuy still stunned in mid air. Time seemed to slow down as the dragoon drew near. Right before Rey brought Kamuy to his end however, Kamuy re-gained control and shifted himself in the air so that the blade merely grazed his side. The wolf landed on the ground in pain, his blood spurting out of the two open wounds.  
  
Both warriors were immensely tired, the battle had taken so much energy from both of them. The pool of blood under Kamuy grew bigger with each passing second, his muscles ached and he had depleted most of his magic. Rey was totally out of breath, his last combo took nearly everything he had left; he knew if the battle did not end soon, things could go really bad.  
  
Kamuy sunk back down into a position much like his defensive one, and Rey tensened up, he didn't have the energy to go through this again. Rey was caught by surprise when Kamuy bowed his head again and a made low, continuous hum. Kamuy's body temporarily stopped bleeding and a dim light began to shine outlining Kamuy in it.  
  
What is he up to now? Rey thought to himself  
  
Rey was in no way prepared for what happened next. From Kamuy's body, two exact copies slowly slid out, one on his left and one on his right. After the two copies got about three feet from the original, a copy came from both of them, making five Kamuy's in one straight line.  
  
Rey's jaw dropped.  
  
Oh..crap Rey nearly panicked ok, let's just keep our eyes on the original. Hopefully the extras are only illusions.  
  
The five Kamuy's then began to shuffle themselves, jumping and ducking over and under each other. When they all stopped, the ended in the same formation as before, only now Rey didn't know which one was which. The brood of Kamuy's all jumped in the air, landing on all sides of Rey.  
  
Rey floated in the middle of the circle, confused, tired, and ready to end the fight.  
  
Darn it.. he thought to himself Ok..I could just fly out of the circle.but I don't think I would be able to fight much longer. This may be my one chance, his only opening..but what should I do.  
  
The red-eyed dragoon hovered in the circle, slowly rotating trying to figure out what to do. His eyes fell to the ground and he noticed the dust that floated up as his wings pushed the air into the ground.  
  
Ah.. thought Rey, he didn't smirk because Kamuy would undoubtedly know that he was up to something.  
  
"Ok Kamuy" he shouted "this ends here, and now. I won't run anymore"  
  
He beat his wings harder while he hovered causing more dust to rise, He slowly rotated until he saw what he needed to see. Out of the corner of his eye, one of the Kamuy's flinched from the dust. Rey kept rotating as if not noticing.  
  
Ok. Rey thought showtime  
  
He stopped with his back turned to the Kamuy that he saw flinch, hoping that there was only one real Kamuy and a bunch of illusions.  
  
All at once the five Kamuy's jumped at Rey. Time almost stopped as they flew through the air. Rey waited for them all to get close enough, then right before they hit him, he turned and extended his hand. Rey felt the impact of Kamuy's throat slid right into his hand, and all the others simply faded through him.  
  
"Good bye" Rey said coldly  
  
Kamuy's eyes opened widely, then Rey slid his blade right into his chest, and out the other side.  
  
Kamuy struggled for his last breaths as he laid there impaled upon Rey's sword. Blood filled his mouth and oozed out accompanied by that from the open wound.  
  
Rey removed the blade and let Kamuy slide to the ground. Rey turned his back and collapsed to the ground in fatigue. The bright light from before surrounded his body again and the ruby fell to the ground. Rey sat there on his hands and knees, his blade had been reforged anew and the open slot was taken up by a red painted circle with a reptile eyes painted in, making it resemble the ruby that had once been there.  
  
Rey turned around to see the carcass of Kamuy, then back again at the ruby. He picked it up and struggled to his feet. The light from the ruby filled the surrounding ruins, as the moon faded into the clouds. He palmed the ruby and stared into it as it stared back into his soul.  
  
"What is this?" Rey said aloud.  
  
"Interesting" Bellana said as she looked into her large crystal sphere "It seems the Dragoons have re-appeared. Ah, no matter, I defeated them them, I'll do it again now."  
  
She looked over towards the shadows at the far end of her chamber. "Red!!"  
  
A shady figure walked into the dim light, his features not visible in the light.  
  
"Yes my Queen?" He asked with respect  
  
"It is time" she answered "the dragoons are rising again. Go now, and fulfill my wishes. Show them the extent of my sorcery"  
  
"Yes, my queen" The mysterious figure replied "I will take care of this matter" In the dim light arose another dim but red light emitting from an item in his right hand. "It will be no problem.  
  
  
  
Author: Yay!!!!! Kamuy is finally dead, and Rey has made his first kill. Question now is..who, or what is this new figure, and what made the mysterious glow??????????? (I know..hahahhahhahaha) 


	5. Explainations and Goodbyes

Author: What is it about Cid that makes you all need to bother me about him so much? Honestly.he died in the first chapter come on.  
  
By the way..I'm a Yu-Gi-Oh junkie so.I'll play the swords of revealing light. You cannot predict anything in further chapters in your reviews for the next three chapters hahahahahahahahha *slaps self in the face* Sorry about that.  
  
Chapter 4: Explanations and Good-byes  
  
The man looked off into the distance at the ruins of the city of Furni. Twilight was approaching fast so he could see a little of his destination.  
  
"Hm.Looks like I'm almost there" he said coldly "I'll be able to carry out my orders easily.and maybe have some fun in the process.  
  
He walked onward to the ruins, all the way there the grass seemed to be moving out of the way rather than be stepped on by his feet. Even they knew that there was something odd about him, even his features gave it away. He was tall and rather built.yet his skin seemed unhealthy and almost green. Aside from the sheer size of his muscles and build, he seemed dead.  
  
He entered the ruins shortly after and took a moment to gaze upon the damage, even after ten years the buildings seemed freshly destroyed, and the voices of innocents filled his ears.and he laughed, barely but coldlyat it. His eyes turned to a collapsed body of a young man sprawled out on the ground. A few inches from his hand lay a sword built strong, with a hilt lined with crimson. He walked over to the body like a phantom and picked up the sword, feeling it in his hand, he even swung it a little examining it's strengths and weaknesses. He passed a glance to his own blade at his side, it was unnormally jagged at the baseof it, but smoothed it's way out after that all the way to the end where it widened and then made a point forming a diamond at the tip of the blade. Due to it's unusual shape, it was bound to his side by a leather strap.  
  
He put the blade down again and turned his attention towards the youth.  
  
"Oh please" He said "After one measly fight with a wolf, he passes out like this. Her majesty Queen Bellana must either be really crazy or, really has a plan for this kid if she wants me to fight him. But, ah oh well."  
  
The Moon that Never Sets appeared suddenly in the sky again even though it wasn't dark. The mysterious man looked back up to it, then turned his attention once again back to the boy.  
  
"I guess she's making sure I don't just kill him first" He said to himself  
  
He kneeled down to the boy and placed and placed his hand on his head. He sat there for a moment, keeping his hand there, not moving at all. When he had felt he had accomplished his deed he pulled his hand away and noticed a small round ruby laying at the side of the boy.  
  
He smirked to himself and pulled out a ruby of his own from his pocket. His was different in many ways yet it still held great power. It was very dull and shimmered slightly when held, the ruby itself seemed very dry and lifeless in oppose to the boy's. Also, two rings made of bone coated his own ruby that joined and touched above and below the dry eye in the center of the ruby. He repocketed it, and walked over into the shadowy exerts of the ruins, waiting for the right time to finish what he came for.  
  
Rey was surrounded by complete darkness wondering where he was. For a moment he began to frantically search through the endless room, searching for someone or something.  
  
What is going on here? Rey thought to himself  
  
"Rey..." Rey heard a faint whisper in the midst of the darkness "You've failed us haven't you Rey.."  
  
"What?!?!" Rey shouted into the void "w-who are you"  
  
His muscles tensoned in suspicion, as his fears began to consume him.  
  
A thin, ghostly white, cold finger tapped his shoulder. Rey froze with fear temporarily, then turned around. He turned to see a rotted carcass standing in front of him. It seemed like it was a woman, yet was barely recognizable. Her skin was so tight on her bones it almost seemed like she was a skeleton, and in the place of where her throat should have been, was a scar that seemed as if it had been torn right out.  
  
Rey freaked out "Holy." he jumped back in immediate fear only to bump into something cold behind him.  
  
Cold fingers crept their way onto his shoulders with a remarkably firm grasp.  
  
"You failed us" both ghouls said hauntingly "You could've saved us.but you didn't did you."  
  
Rey instantly realized who these people were.  
  
The people of Furni Rey thought to himself  
  
"I-I'm sorry" He whispered, his energy being sucked out of him by the cold fingers "I got there too late"  
  
"Liar" Another ghoul came into the dark area, this one resembling a little girl with scratch marks all down her face and chest "You knew, and you didn't help us"  
  
"N-no.it's not like that" Rey's spirit began to shatter as the guilt consumed him "I would have protected you, but I didn't know I he was there until it was too late"  
  
Slowly, dozens of ghouls materialized in the area. Their voices rang out from all directions, with each cry, Rey's spirit dampened.  
  
"You should've saved us" they continued "instead, you let him kill us, then you killed him afterwards. Were we not good enough for you to save?"  
  
Rey cupped his hands over his eyes in order to block out the hideous chorus. Tears began to stream out of his eyes as he struggled with the burden of the deaths of those in Furni.  
  
"They're right you know" A familiar voice hung out in the air, stale as bread, yet sharp as a blade. It cut into Rey's ears and he looked up, searching through the endless phantoms looking for the source. "You did let us down"  
  
Rey turned off to his right to see a new phantom materialize, this one was different than the rest. It looked white still, but as if it hadn't rotted. The flesh on this one was still in perfect condition aside from the large wound on it's right shoulder.  
  
Rey's tears burned his eyes, but even through them he was able to recognize the figure. "CID?!?!?!?!" he shouted "Is that you?"  
  
"Yes Rey" Cid said coldly "It is me. And yet it isn't."  
  
"I-I don't understand" Rey muttered  
  
"I'm only a phantom now. A mere shadow of my former self" He said spitefully "And it's all thanks to you"  
  
"B-B-But I'm sorry, I couldn't help anymore than I did" Rey muttered  
  
"Liar." Cid screamed "You could've treated these wound if you really wanted to."  
  
Rey knew in his mind that the wounds were out of his hands, and that only one of the Nurses could have saved him, but by now the guilt had ruined him beyond that "I-I'm sorry.you're right. I should've saved you, I should've killed Kamuy earlier. I-I'm sorry" Rey hung his head in shame.  
  
Cid walked over to Rey and knelt down next to him. "Well.sorry doesn't cut it now. We are all dead. But.you will get what you deserve.  
  
Rey said nothing to this comment. "I see you've lost your will to argue. No matter.you were a part of Furni. Furni died..and so will you."  
  
Cid stood up and raised his hand. All the phantoms in the area immediately grabbed hold of Rey and held him tight. Rey didn't even bother to struggle against them, he had lost the will to olive this out. The room instantly filled with water, and the pressure hit Rey's chest.still he didn't move.  
  
As he began to feel his life slip away, he looked around.  
  
I-I'm sorry Rey thought, then he hung his head, ready to die.  
  
Rey awoke, cold and shivering, sweat pouring from every pore in his body. His breath was hard and his fear at a peak. He looked around to find himself among the ruins at the surface of Furni. He looked up to notice the twilight as the wind cut through him coldly and swiftly sending a chill up his spine.  
  
"Only a dream" Rey said among the gasps.  
  
Rey sat up, afraid to go back to sleep in fear of meeting the ghouls again. His attitude dampened as he thought about the dream.  
  
"Maybe it was all my fault" He said to himself  
  
No...it wasn't The voice from the ruby spoke warmly into his mind, cheering him up a little, and returning some sound reason to his mind. You were not close enough to stop Kamuy from killing off all those people, what you saw in that nightmare was not really them.  
  
But.they felt so real Rey thought back to the ruby I felt their pain.they're agony.they're hate.  
  
They were long dead when you killed Kamuy, they do not even know about it, they won't until they meet his soul.then I pity the poor mut. The voice replied  
  
I guess you are right Rey responded  
  
Now get some sleep, I will meet you in you're dream.there I will explain what I know, and teach you what you will need to know to become an effective Red-Eyed Dragoon the voice said calmly  
  
A Red-Eyed what? Rey exclaimed through his thoughts  
  
Sleep.. the voice returned  
  
A bright light emitted from the ruby, and Rey felt warmed instantly. His drowsiness from the previous battle returned, and he fell asleep again.  
  
Rey found himself in a white room, in every direction, there seemed an endless amount of space. He turned around many times to figure out where he was.  
  
"Rey" the voice from the ruby called out to him, but for once, it seemed to be speaking to him rather than thinking towards him.  
  
Rey turned to around towards the origin of the voice, as soon as he had turned to face it he gasped and almost fell backwards. Right in front of him stood a large red Dragon with crimson scales all over his body. It's crimson eyes pierced into Rey's soul. It stood strongly on it's two hind legs and hunched forward onto it's very well built arms. It's wings were folded, making them much smaller than they really were, yet still looking incredibly large.  
  
The Dragon stood upright, bringing itself to full stature.  
  
"Hello, Rey" The dragon said  
  
"Wh-ho are you?" Rey muttered, trying to get over the shock of what he had just seen.  
  
"I.am Bartham, a Red-Eyed dragon." he began "and you.are my Dragoon"  
  
"D-D-DR-R-A what?!?!?!" Rey muttered  
  
"Dragoon" Bartham reiterated "The knight of a Dragon. Your power is forged from the magical energy that my spirit began to emit after I died."  
  
"What?" Rey said as he began to get around the shock of talking to a Dragon "Dead? But then how are you talking to me?"  
  
"Like I said" Bartham replied "You draw your power from my spirit, therefore as long as my spirit is with you, so will I."  
  
"Spirit?" Rey asked "what spirit?"  
  
"That" Bartham extended his right hand, palm up and the ruby levitated out of Rey's pocket and floated shoulder height in front of Rey "This is my spirit, the spirit of a Red-Eyed Dragon, and the source of the Red-Eyed Dragoon's power"  
  
"You mean." Rey walked forward and palmed the spirit "that this heirloom of my father's is what saved me?"  
  
"In a way, yes" Bartham replied, happy that the new dragoon was beginning to understand it.  
  
"But" Rey began "why didn't you help my father?"  
  
Bartham froze in his place and slightly hung his head. He turned around and began to look towards a ceiling that was not there.  
  
"Your father." Bartham began "when your father owned my spirit, our power was not needed. Soa had not willed our return at the time, even the Dragoons from ten years ago, their power would have eventually faded also. The threat that now plagues this world.is the will of Soa it seems." Bartham turned back around to face the Dragoon.  
  
Rey had hung his head, thinking of his father, recalling the painful memory of his father's last breath.  
  
"I'm sorry Rey" Bartham sent his sympathy "I couldn't help your father, he was a brave man.but he met his fate. Now, it is your turn to embrace your fate. It is up to you to save this world, only the Dragoons now have the power to return order and peace. Do you understand?"  
  
Rey looked deep into the spirit and rose his head.  
  
"Yes" he said "I understand. I will face my fate bravely, that is what my father would want, and that's what." Rey bit his lip "that's what Cid would do too."  
  
"Good" Bartham returned to his full stature and the seriousness returned to his voice. "Now, what you must do now is go to the Shrine of Shirley in Southern Serdio to the east. There you will find the answers, for now, all I can tell you is basic information on your quest. Ten years ago, the sorceress Bellana was freed from her prison in the lowest parts of the Mountain of Mortal Dragon. After her escape, she sought revenge on those who imprisoned her, the humans and the winglies."  
  
"Winglies?" Rey asked in surprise "I thought they were extinct in the past after for some unknown reason."  
  
"They were defeated by Dragoons much like yourself from 10000 years ago" Bartham explained "After their defeat by the hands of the Dragoons, they his in a forest away from all mankind. Anyway.Bellana killed off all the Dragoons from ten years ago, and took their spirits. The Divine Dragon spirit reacted to her and she uses it even now. Of the other spirits, no one knows what kind of things she has done to them with her magic, but I would wish not to find out. Now she sits on a throne at the Fort of Mortal Dragon, as the Queen of Dragons."  
  
"Wow." Rey replied "She must have been very powerful"  
  
"She was and still is" Bartham said grimly "And her power grows all the time it is said. That is why we must hurry and find more Dragoons, together your might should be enough to."  
  
"Wait a sec." Interrupted Rey "If the Dragoons from ten years ago couldn't do it.what chance will I have? Even with other Dragoons.we will fail just like the Dragoons from before."  
  
"You cannot think about it like that" Bartham said as if a sage "if you do not believe you can win.you won't be able to. Besides.this generation of Dragoons will be different"  
  
"Different?" Rey pulled himself out of an all depressed state and was suddenly intrigued "What do you mean 'different?'"  
  
"The Dragoons from before were excellent fighters yes." Bartham began "but they relied too much on the fighting enhancements the Dragoon power gave them.and not enough of the magic that was also given to them."  
  
"Magic?" Rey was now really interested  
  
"Yes.magic" Bartham said "Every type of Dragon specializes in a different style of magic. Combined, the Dragoons can control all the elements of nature when fighting completely in tune. That is the power of the Dragoons, that is the power that when used correctly and as a perfect team.could defeat even the Divine Dragon.the King of Dragons itself. That is why we need all the Dragoons together, then and only then will you be able to defeat Bellana.  
  
"Okay." Rey swallowed all of this and reasoned through it, then returned to the thought at mind "So, how do I use this magic?"  
  
"Oh." Bartham stopped "sorry, I forgot.I never taught you how to use it. Well, it's fairly simple. In order to properly use magic, you must focus on the element that you have power to control. In this case.fire. You must focus on the fire all around you, the element is everywhere, even where visible fire is not in visible site. From there, all you must do is focus it, then it will bend to your every whim, however, you must know your limits or the knowledge of magic will prove more a hinderance than an aide."  
  
"Okay." Rey replied "I understand my quest, and I am ready"  
  
"Good, because it is time now for it to begin" Bartham said after he stood to full stature again "the Third Dragon Campaign has begun."  
  
With that the light faded and Rey awoke to the ruins of Furni he knew so well.  
  
Rey stood to his feet, and dusted himself off. A glimpse in the sky sparked his interested, the moon was still out sitting as an equal to the sun. Rey shook it all off and began to head off into the direction of the ruins of the underground shelter that had once been his home. He had one last thing to do.  
  
As he walked towards the entrance his soul began to feel heavier, and the guilt from the nightmare before came back to haunt him. The voices began to creep in to his subconscious, the fright seemed to dimmen his spirits it seemed to hold him back.  
  
"You failed us Rey" He could have sworn he heard "You couldn't help us, you didn't even try"  
  
Just as the voices semmed to reach a peak of fear piercing through Rey's soul, Bartham's calm voice snuck into his head.  
  
Rey He whispered do not let this get to you, it was only a dream. It was not the will of Soa that they be alive, or else they would be  
  
Rey used the words to regain his confidence and continued towards the catacomb entrance, determined to do what he knew he should.  
  
He climbed down the ladder and the his eyes readjusted to the dim light of the caves. The smell of blood hung dry in the dull air. The walls of the catacombs had been painted with the blood of innocence, and the carcasses of those murdered in cold blood, added the finishing touches to the depressing room.  
  
Rey traveled a little into the cave until he reached the rooms. He rummaged through looking for new clothes to wear since his were so messed up. Then he went to the training hall and found some red chain mail that matched the color of his Dragoon Spirit.  
  
He ventured to near the entrance of the cave to finish off the last of his task.  
  
He searched around until he came upon the body of his beloved friend.  
  
"Cid" he said aloud. The words hung around for a while in the still air, then faded off into the nothingness from which it came.  
  
Rey picked up the body and climbed out into the bright sun.  
  
Rey looked down upon the grave which he had just made for his friend. Cid's sword hung at the head of it forming a cross, for a marking place of the grave.  
  
"Good-bye my friend" Rey forced the words out and held back his tears. He palmed the Dragoon spirit and felt it's warmth. "Now, I must face my destiny.as you have faced yours."  
  
"I wouldn't worry so much about missing him" A cold heartless voice said from the shadows. "For you to will be joining him soon in the realm of the dead."  
  
"What?" Rey turned around to see a man walking from out of the shadows. "Who are you?"  
  
"It doesn't matter" the man said "I am just here to fight" With that he held his sword out in front of him, and Rey drew his.  
  
"I guess, this is where my destiny truly begins" Rey said boldly  
  
"Really?" the man said "then I guess this is also where it ends"  
  
  
  
Author: Ok, I'm really sorry it took this long, It was a little longer than expected, but I'm gonna try and type more often. 


	6. The Tainted Warrior

Author: Alright.you guys are very demanding about things that happen in MY story, but you are the fans. And by the way why does everyone seem to like Dart so much.I really didn't like him that much, yet every time I mention Bellana.everyone growls because she killed Dart. Well who cares.  
  
Yes.there will be more Dragoons soon, probably in the next chapter. And I will also add veterans because every good epilogue story needs a veteran from the previous adventure.  
  
If anyone has tips about the last level in Sonic Adventure 2 (the conjoined one) please share it with me.I need the help.  
  
Chapter 5: The Tainted Warrior  
  
The two warriors clothed in crimson stared at each other swords drawn prepared to battle. The moment stood as a blink in time, nothing seemed to move, and for a moment nothing seemed to exist besides the two warriors and the eerie moon that hovered above the battlefield. Rey looked the other warrior in the eye, waiting for the first move, as the opposing warrior did the same. Neither wanted to make the first move, but neither opened their mouth in order to tell the other to do so.  
  
Off in the background, some of the rubble of the ruins of Furni re-settled then eventually fell apart. The quiet crash of the rubble served as a cue to both warriors, and the moment of stillness ended. Both warriors broke from their fighting stances and charged forward with incredible speed.  
  
The two swords at once and both Rey got his first good look at his opponent's face. The face seemed almost dying, very malnourished, the tints of green were slight but there.  
  
Rey had learned from Kamuy never to drop his guard, so he kept close attention to the fight, and little on the man's face.  
  
Both Rey and the other warrior pushed off with their swords at the same time and jumped back a few feet. They wasted no time charging again. Rey charged with his sword above his shoulders until he was almost in his opponent's striking range, then he brought down his sword with all his force, only to be met by the other warrior's blade coming from the opposite direction. The man easily stopped Rey's attack, and pushed his sword back above his head and stabbed with his sword looking for an easy victory. Rey side-stepped quickly to avoid being impaled on the blade and slammed his elbow into his opponent's jaw.  
  
The man stepped back a little to recover and regain himself, but Rey was already charging. Rey's sword was held out in front of him because he knew that trying to gather strength and give up speed would not help him now. His opponent regained himself right in time to notice the blade. He placed one leg firmly behind the other, dropped his sword, and caught Rey's blade as soon as it came close enough.  
  
"Heh," he said "Your gonna have to do better than that"  
  
"Shut up" Rey said, after recovering from the shock of the power this man possessed.  
  
Rey tried to force the blade through the warrior's grasp, but it didn't help. The warrior was just too powerful for Rey to face in a one-on-one fight of pure strength.  
  
The warrior popped a grin and moved both his hands tearing it from Rey's grasp. Both warriors now unarmed, Rey's opponent crouched down, kicked Rey's legs from underneath him, and grabbed his own blade. He spun around to make it look fluent and ended up back on his feet, with his sword to Rey's throat. Rey laid on the ground dazed that the warrior could move that fast and pull off that kind of series of events that quickly.  
  
The warrior taunted Rey with a grin.  
  
"So, not much of a destiny, I guess" He mocked  
  
Rey was past trying to come up with a smart aleck comment, at the present time, he was wracking his brain for a solution to his current problem.  
  
"Nothing to say?" The warrior asked "well, then you can die. A shame though, you had so much potential"  
  
He brought his blade back and prepared to thrust it through Rey's neck. Rey sighed silently in relief, he was hoping his opponent would do something like this.  
  
Rey kicked one of his opponents legs, causing him to lose his balance, in the split second of time it gave him, he rolled over until his belly touched the ground, sprawled to his feet and barely avoided having his left leg dug into by his quick recovering opponent. Rey scrambled over to his sword, and picked it up, turning on guard expecting to see his opponent charging at him. To Rey's surprise, the other warrior had resheathed his sword and was clapping mildly.  
  
"Good," He said "I didn't expect to kill you that easily. You had me fooled for a second into thinking that you had just given up and prepared to die"  
  
Rey said nothing, trying to concentrate solely on the battle, he knew that his opponent was still a threat, and could probably have his sword unsheathed and at Rey's throat if Rey dropped his guard even once.  
  
"Oh." The warrior mocked "nothing to say, then let's get down to business"  
  
The warrior dropped his smile and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small red sphere with perpendicular bone rings.  
  
Rey accidentally dropped his guard in astonishment as he got a better look at the orb.  
  
The warrior held it out so Rey could see it plainly "Look familiar?"  
  
"A-A" Rey staggered "A Dragoon Spirit?"  
  
"Yes.." The warrior said "and no. This my friend, makes your pathetic spirit seem like nothing more than a regular red ball. This.is a different kind of spirit!"  
  
With that, the warrior raised the spirit high above his head and let out a loud battle cry. The spirit began to glow even though it was not as bright as Rey's. Flames began to pour out of the spirit and spiraled to the ground making a cone-like shape all around the warrior. After the flames had made the outline of the cone and hung in that shape for a while, the flames began to grow, slowly and steadily until the flames fully hid the warrior in them.  
  
Rey watched in shock as the cone slowly shrunk all around the warrior. After it had shrunk small enough, Rey heard something he did not expect, the warrior began to scream in agony as the flames wrapped around his body like a second layer of skin. The screams turned Rey's stomach inside out as he heard the warrior bellow with every fiber in his being. Rey's surprise continued to grow when the warriors flame cloaked form began to rise in the air. Wings of fire exploded from his back, and the flames got slightly larger on his chest, arms and legs like armor. Flames grew in his right hand forming the outline of a well built sword, a little more jagged than the previous one.  
  
The warrior let out one last mighty bellow, and the flames that consumed him exploded off of him all around 3 yards in every direction. Rey turned around to shield himself from the flames, and let them rush over him quickly and not as painful as he expected.  
  
Rey turned around after the flames had passed and stepped back in awe. The warrior he had seen was now covered in armor very different than what he wore as a Dragoon. The warriors hung in the air on frayed blood-red wings, and was had armor of the same color along his body molded in the shape of bleached bone. His pupils glared with a bright crimson that seemed to stare right through Rey.  
  
"This" he said with a smirk "is a Bone Dragoon spirit"  
  
Rey took in all he could of the warrior and took a deep breath.  
  
"A Bone Dragoon huh?" Rey said trying to fake some confidence "then let's test it against an original"  
  
Rey pulled the spirit out of his pocket, and sent a quick thought to Bartham.  
  
Hey Bartham, he thought to his ally can we do this?  
  
I do not know. Bartham replied never before have I seen such a being, I have nothing to base his strength on, but his experience seems obvious, this will be no easy fight  
  
okay then Rey thought and then swallowed hard.  
  
He held out the spirit and let go as t began to levitate in the air. The familiar light washed over his body and cloaked him in the armor of the Red- Eyed Dragoon. After the light died down, Rey took another look at the Bone Dragoon, he raised his weapon in to a fighting stance and prepared to fight once again.  
  
The moon still hovered in the air watching over the two Dragoons braced for combat. They stared each other down again much like before.  
  
This time, the Bone Dragoon wasted no time to start the duel and rushed towards Rey with incredible speed. Rey was ready for this ad retreated backward into the air. The Bone Dragoon changed his angle to realign himself with Rey and charged towards him with his sword off to the right. When he swung for his attack, Rey stopped it cold with his own blade shocking the Bone Dragoon.  
  
Rey stopped his retreat and continued to struggle against the Bone Dragoon in mid-air. Rey stared back into the crimson eyes, the Bone Dragoon seemed so confident that it kind of startled him. Rey pushed forward with his blade and knocked the Bone Dragoon back and off guard a little bit and charged forward prepared to strike again.  
  
The Bone Dragoon was ready for this and dodged off the right in order to dodge a blow that would have removed his shoulder. He brought his arm across his body and swung back-handed using the momentum from the large motion. Rey recovered and blocked it with the blunt side of his sword using both hands so that the strike wouldn't knock the blade out of his hands. The Bone Dragoon followed up with a sturdy inside kick to Rey's head, knocking the warrior off balance. He then followed it up by bringing both hands above his head, and hammered Rey to the chest with the hilt of the sword.  
  
Rey lost control and began to fall out of the air gaining speed with each passing second. Above him he could see the Bone Dragoon closing in, and below was the ground ready to meet him dead on. Rey struggled to catch some of the wind in his wings to stop his descent, but the air was moving by too fast for him to do so. With nothing else to do, he spread out his wings trying very hard to keep them out and began to gain speed quickly.  
  
As the ground began to close in, Rey made a short mental prayer to Soa, and turned his body enough to catch the passing wind just barely turned along the ground missing it by a foot. He had now gained both control and speed, and turned back towards the Bone Dragoon.  
  
Using the speed, he folded his wings and hurled himself at his opponent like an arrow, and began to cork-screw with his sword out in front of him. The Bone Dragoon stopped his chase right away, and smirked to himself ready to dodge to the right and cleave the boy in two.  
  
Rey closed in on the Bone Dragoon and continued to build up speed hoping to impale his opponent on the blade armor and all.  
  
Time seemed to slow down as Rey got close enough to the warrior. His fear mounted when he saw the warrior move to the right and raise his blade above his head. Rey let fear and instinct take him at once and as soon as he got about half way by him, Rey outstretched his foot, and implanted it right in the Bone Dragoon's shoulder before he could attack.  
  
The Bone Dragoon fell to the ground, right into the ruins of a building which collapsed on him. Rey stopped his movement and leveled out looking towards the pile of rubble that buried the warrior. He landed down on the ground and folded his wings again, preparing to power down.  
  
That was easy enough the thought to Bartham  
  
Wait Rey Bartham warned I fear that this fight is not yet over  
  
What do you mean he began to argue didn't you see what just hap-- Rey's own thoughts were cut off when he saw some of the rubble shoot away making room for a large fireball that was coming right at him.  
  
Rey moved his upper body slightly and twisted himself so that he only felt the heat of it. The fireball went on, grabbing Rey's gaze and exploded against and pile of rubble reducing it to ash.  
  
Rey returned his gaze to the pile of rubble which had buried the Bone Dragoon.  
  
Rey heard the battle cry that had been familiar to him before erupt from the pile. A dim red light seeped it's way through the cracks of the rubble, and gave Rey proof that his opponent still was ready to fight.  
  
Rey braced himself again, waiting for his opponent. The battle cry pulsed louder for a second, and a huge explosion erupted from the rubble sending it in all directions. After the dust had cleared, the Bone Dragoon floated there with his sword in the ground blade end down.  
  
"Okay," He scowled "Now I'm mad"  
  
He stretched his arms and legs out wide and began to hum silently. Flames began to appear out of nowhere and swirl around his hands and moved it's way down his arms, chest, legs, and head until it swirled around his body. They eventually coated his body much like in his transformation except this time he didn't scream in agony from the burning.  
  
The flaming form landed on the ground and pushed forward towards Rey with great speed. Rey kept his cool and raised his sword to a fighting stance.  
  
When the flaming figure flew close enough, Rey stepped to the right and swung with all his might right at the head of his opponent. The blade collided with the flaming figure right at the head, but bounced off with ease with enough force to knock the blade out of Rey's hands and 2 yards away.  
  
Rey turned around, making sure that he kept his opponent in front of him.  
  
The flaming Bone Dragoon stopped and turned preparing for another attack. At this point Rey had almost panicked and began to frantically dart left and right, up and down, to avoid his opponent.  
  
Bartham Rey called out in his mind what do I do?  
  
Rey Bartham called back think about it. In order to appropriately fight against magic, you need to use magic.  
  
But, Rey thought as he flew up a couple feet to avoid contact with his opponent. I've never done it before, how can I match his power?  
  
You must have faith in the power that you possess Bartham lectured power to change for the better and help those in need, that is the power you must trust in, and you must trust in yourself. You can do this!  
  
Rey swallowed hard and dodged again. Okay, I'll try  
  
He dropped down to the ground and planted his sword, blade down, into the ground.  
  
"Here goes nothing" He said to himself.  
  
He turned his body so that his left side faced his opponent and his right hand was curled into a fist a couple inches from his thigh. He spread his legs to shoulder width and began to concentrate.  
  
Okay He thought to himself Bartham said that I just have to concentrate on fire  
  
The Bone Dragoon stopped like normally, but instead of going back for another attack, waited to see what the youth was doing.  
  
Rey focused hard, believing in the words of Bartham and focusing on the element of fire. He shut his eyes and imagined it swirling around his fist. Soon he felt his hand get warm, he opened his eyes to see a small spiral of flames leading to his hand. He focused it all at once and it coated his hand, he didn't summon anymore because he remembered that Bartham had said to be know his limits.  
  
The Bone Dragoon smirked and called out "Let us test our magic against one another!" With that he charged forward again, aiming for Rey's chest ready to end this fight.  
  
Alright, here goes Rey thought to himself. He held on tightly to the ball of flame coating his hand.  
  
The Bone Dragoon closed in, and Rey realized that it was now or never.  
  
Rey turned his body and punched with all his force using his flame coated hand. "Inferno Punch" He cried out. His fist collided with the face of his opponent and exploded sending flames in every direction.  
  
The Bone Dragoon met the impact and immediately went soaring in the opposite direction from the impact. He flew 10 yards until he hit the ground and skidded another 2 and lay on the ground sprawled out, and powered down.  
  
Rey stood dazed, from both the realization that he had used magic and that he seemed to have defeated the Bone Dragoon for real. He let go of his link to the spirit and his Red-Eyed armor disappeared as he fell to his knees as the spirit fell gently to the ground. Rey pocketed the Red-Eyed Spirit and got up. He grabbed his sword and walked towards the un-powered Bone Dragoon, barely able to hold his sword.  
  
He approached his opponent and noticed that his face had fully blackened and began to blister from the blow. His entire face was charred that pure black aside from the goldenrod pouches of puss that dotted it all over. He opened his eyes but looked beyond Rey.  
  
Rey turned around to see the moon pulsate unevenly, he turned back to the warrior.  
  
"Yes" the warrior said while still looking at the moon "I understand"  
  
Rey was puzzled for a second, and in what seemed like a split second, the warrior slipped his foot underneath Rey's causing him to fall. Before Rey could hit the ground, the warrior managed to get to his feet, he executed a well aimed chop right to Rey's neck. That was all Rey saw as darkness overtook his perception, he could feel his consciousness slip away but couldn't do a thing about it.  
  
The Bone Dragoon transformed again, as if he had taken no damage at all, and picked up the youth.  
  
"I must admit" he said to the unconscious body "you are stronger than I expected, I cannot wait until our next fight"  
  
With that, he flew into the distance.  
  
Author: Alright, Rey has finally fought with the guy in red. And if you haven't figured it out, this is why the fan-fic is called "The Darker Side of Good". Sorry it took so long. And there WILL be more characters, promise, as a matter of fact, one is coming up shortly ^_^. 


	7. A New Ally

Author: I'm sooooo sorry about how long this took. I had problems deciding how to open this chapter,,,a LOT of problems, so I hope this is good for all of you.  
  
Alright, the first Bone Dragoon vs. Dragoon battle..(now the story is gonna start getting a little more interesting, because yes, there is a world outside of Furni)  
  
Why does everyone love Jades so much? There will be Jades, when I am good and ready, but until then..I say what goes on [foams at mouth] hahahahahahahahahaha [slaps self] Sorry.  
Chapter 6: A New Ally  
  
Rey opened his eyes to see the bright sun that shown all over Endiness, it gave off an intense heat that Rey had never felt in his life. He also noticed that his arms felt like they were burning and immediately lifted them off the ground, sending a surge of discomfort through his body. He struggled to sit up, feeling bruised all over his body, vaguely remembering how his previous fight ended.  
  
After he had gathered himself all together again, he took notice of the surroundings. All he could see in all directions was sand dotted every now and then with a small pit that seemed to endlessly suck it in. There were large moths floating around, he guessed that they were harmful even though they didn't seem to get very close to him with a feeling of fear. He look around some more to see a couple blackened forms of what appeared to the same kind of moths, but only within five feet of him.  
  
Guess Bartham must have been awake while I wasn't he thought to himself.  
  
The thought reminded him of the past event and his hands immediately fell to his spirit and sword, both of them seemed intact, and his nerves settled back down.  
  
He stood up quickly, trying to keep his hands off the hot sand as much as possible, having no idea where to go, he figured to just head in a direction randomly. He looked around in all directions trying to figure out which way to go. He was about to head off into the desert when some shining objects caught his eye. There were four in all and they were laying right where he had been a minute or so ago. He walked over to them and examined them first on the ground, then he picked them up, wincing slightly at the pain the heat had sent through his hand. One of the items, he could tell was a bottle of clear water, of the other three, he could come to no conclusion. He pocketed the water and took a closer look at the two other items.  
  
After careful examination, he realized that he was no closer to figuring out what the three strange objects were than before. So he decided to ask the one person he thought would know what it was. He turned his head out towards the horizon and sent a thought to the voice that guided him thus far.  
  
Hey Bartham he thought, directing the message to the Red-Eyed presence within him.  
  
Yes? the entity thought back  
  
Have any idea what the heck these things are? he thought, hoping the dead dragon would have seen them sometime during it's life.  
  
Hmmmm. the Dragon pondered, his thoughts somewhat connected to Rey's I believe I have seen these both before, yet I do not know what one of them does, the names however, I recall.  
  
I'm listening Rey thought back  
  
Okay, the pale blue liquid in the vial in your left hand is what is called a Healing Potion I believe, a sip or two of those will cure almost any wound imaginable, cuts, bruises, even mildly broken bones. The wise Dragon told him. Immediately, Rey's thoughts fell back to his deceased friend. Any wound?  
  
Almost any wound the dragon corrected  
  
UsefulRey replied  
  
Yes, the dragon said now back to the rest, you see that little orb of light?  
  
Rey focused his attention to a palm size globe, feeling like glass, with a bright light inside. He sent the dragon a message that told him that he understood and continued to listen.  
  
That is called an Angel's Prayer, it is used to bring people back to consciousness, it is used by squeezing on the outer layer, it is also pretty fragile, so be careful.  
  
Alright Rey said  
  
And that last small vial with the gold liquid he continued is called a Sun Rhapsody, I know you drink it but I don't know why  
  
Okay Rey shrugged his shoulders as if Bartham were standing right in front of him So, I got some healing stuff, water, something to make me wake up, and some mystery stuff.  
  
CorrectBartham replied confidently  
  
Good Rey responded So then it is time to go  
  
Rey look to the horizon in front of him and began to walk, having no idea where he was going.  
  
Bellana sat on her throne in the shadow filled throne room to the Fort of Mortal Dragon her sword sheathed in a hilt made of stone attached to the throne. Her blue eyes stood out like diamonds amidst the darkness. Clad in her gray long sleeve shirt and pants, she watched in silence at the large orb placed in the dead center of the dark room. She stared into it constantly, looking over the world at all times using the revived Moon that Never Sets as her eternal and ever watchful eyes. She had seen the fight between her warrior and Rey, and had been very pleased, everything was going exactly how she had planned it.  
  
Slowly the large door bearing entrance to the darkened room slid slowly open, and seven figures walked into the room passing by the two fire dragons acting as sentries. At the head of the group was the man dressed in crimson that had recently returned from his battle with Rey. The other six were dressed in a flurry of pale color, blue, green, deep purple, violet, gray, bronze and green could be seen amongst them, each wearing a specific color and only that.  
  
Bellana removed her attention from the large crystal ball to give it momentarily the Red-Eyed Bone Dragoon and the six warriors standing behind him. They stopped short of the throne and all kneeled in a "V" formation with the Red-Eyed at the lead.  
  
"Excellent work Jacus" Bellana said with little emotion "your performance was excellent"  
  
The Red-Eyed Bone Dragoon lifted his head to acknowledge her "Thank you my queen" he dropped his head back down to it's previous position.  
  
"You may all rise" she said and all seven warriors stood. She directed her attention back to Jacus "and he also grabbed the items you left, so we shall see exactly how well off this child will be."  
  
"I merely did as you requested my queen" he said sternly  
  
"So, on a less formal note." Bellana started with a sick grin on her face "how did you enjoy your visit to Furni, it's been what? 10 years since I sent you there?"  
  
The Red-Eyed spread a similar grin across his face "well, I must say, I liked the town a lot better in flames than in ruins, wouldn't you agree?"  
  
Bellana chuckled "I agree, screaming men, women, and children being scorched by flames has always been preferred over playing and laughter"  
  
The two of them joked lightly for a while the rest of the warriors stood perfectly still the whole time. Eventually, the two stopped and the conversation got serious again. Bellana turned to address the group of warriors.  
  
"It is time for the rest of you to now complete your parts to my plan. You have been well instructed on what to do, and I know that you all know how to hold back, remember, your job is to test them, nothing else." She commanded.  
  
All the warriors nodded except the one clad in violet armor. He was a man of small build, he was slender and apparently very agile. His head stayed facing the ground, not nodding in agreement or showing any disapproval of the plan.  
  
Bellana took notice and immediately addressed him.  
  
"Jema, is there a problem? why do you not nod in approval like your allies?" She said in a false softness, then her voice immediately rose to anger "Speak!"  
  
The violet clad warrior rose his head and looked her in the eyes, and took a deep breath.  
  
"My Queen," he started "I only ask why we waste our time with such matters? It is obvious that any one of us could annihilate all of these children with a single spell, you above all else. Why do we waste time with these pointless match ups? Isn't it better to simply kill them now before they become a nuisance? And also, why do we wait to take the last human fort of Deningrad? With the power you possess, you could easily take that fort with ease, yet you linger and wait, you allow them to gain moral and continue to squirm and plan. My Queen, altogether, your plans just seem to be flawed and I wish to know why we are giving our enemies so many chances.it doesn't seem.wise."  
  
Bellana's expression changed back to the false softness from before as she sat back down. She laughed out loud at the violet clad warrior.  
  
"Well I have two questions myself for you, Jema." She said when she had finished laughing "One, why not allow our enemies to squirm, it makes them fear us so much when they know only a fraction of our power and we continue to show them little by little until the time is right. Besides, I see everything that happens on this world, so if those we are tormenting wish to do something about it, I already know and will be prepared."  
  
She slowly stood up and unnoticeably snuck her hand to the hilt of her weapon. "And two, when did you ever gain the right to question my judgement?"  
  
Jema looked up in shock and reached for his pale amethyst crystal, but it was already too late. Bellana had her weapon already drawn and transformed it into it's alternate whip style form and had already sent the very tip his way. She expertly sent the far end of the whip towards Jema without even coming close to the other warriors. The end of the whip lodged itself in Jema's diaphragm due to the amazing force she sent it with. With it stuck inside him, she pulled Jema towards her, dragging him on his feet to a halt right in front of her. She dislodged the weapon causing Jema to start pouring out his blood like a fountain. She looked him coldly in the eye and flicked her wrist retracting the whip to it's original form.  
  
"Well? When did you?" She rose the blade high in the air and swung mercilessly and effortlessly through Jema's neck. The clean strike left no blood on the blade, and made Jema's lifeless head linger on his shoulders for a couple seconds before the wound became visible and the head slid silently to the floor, leaving a rapidly bleeding stump of a body still standing.  
  
Bellana sat down and kicked Jema's lifeless body away from her throne. She smirked at it and brought her gaze back to the others.  
  
"Now that that is done," She said "Fly my soldiers, complete your assignment. Go"  
  
The room filled up with an array of blue, green, deep purple, gray, and bronze as the remaining Bone Dragoons powered up and flew out. Jacus looked up at Bellana who seemed to have more pressing matters on her mind.  
  
"What is wrong my Queen?" He asked her.  
  
She looked at him and rose her arm into the air, palm face up. Along with her arm rose Jema's Bone Dragoon Spirit. "I am trying to decide on who to give this to next. Jema was a powerful warrior and brilliant yet foolish at the same time, where will I find a replacement?"  
  
"I don't really know of many people that are worthy of such power" Jacus replied sorrily "There are after all, few humans that still live."  
  
"Hmmm."Bellana continued to sit in her throne, not being able to come up with a good canidate. She sat and pondered for a few minutes until the idea seemed to hit her over the head. A sick and demented smile spread across her face as the prime candidate stood out into her mind.  
  
She levitated the orb to Jacus and showed him on the her globe exactly who she wanted and how to find them. The same sick smile spread across his face as he grabbed the bone spirit. He turned and activated his spirit, shining a dim light in the room. He said his farewell to Bellana and went off to fulfill his mistress' wish.  
  
Rey shielded his eyes from the sun overhead and peered into the endless horizon. Sweat made every part of his body soaked except for his parched mouth and throat. His energy nearly as drained as the bottle of water that was now empty and he trudged onward through the harsh desert. He didn't know how, but he managed to still be able to fight against the rapidly appearing insects using little Dragoon power, but his potion was also beginning to run thin and there was no end of the desert in sight.  
  
Rey dropped to one knee out of exhaustion having lost almost all hope of surviving.  
  
"What a gypped destiny," he said to himself "instead of becoming a hero, I get to die way out in the middle of no where. Man this sucks"  
  
Rey Bartham reached out to the consciousness of Rey's mind do not lose hope yet, I sense that there may be an oasis nearby.  
  
Uh Bartham.. Rey returned I've seen three oasis' now and not one of them was real, why do you think this one is?  
  
Oasis' are illusions that are created by those delirious from the desert's heat he stated I, am not affected by the heat because I am merely a spirit, so get up and head west it should be close.  
  
Rey got somewhat excited about this new prediction, he figured that the spirit probably was right and there was no reason to doubt it. He used all his strenght and pulled himself to his feet and started walking slowly to the west.  
  
He trudged through the sand for about 10 minutes until something caught his eye. Off into the distance was a medium sized girl, she looked no older than 17 years old and the latest. She was dressed in black from head to toe, and in her hand was a black cane a little taller than her that she seemed to be using as a walking stick. Her hair was black and sunk down to her shoulders and Rey guessed that her eyes were also probably black.  
  
As far as Rey could tell she was just standing there as if waiting for something. Rey then noticed something else catch his eye, a monster, much like the ones he had seen before, was slowly closing in on her turned back. It inched closer and closer to her with every passing second and was prepared to attack.  
  
Rey wanted to call out to her, to try and save her, but he lacked the energy to properly do so, thus he watched preparing for what seemed inevitable.  
  
The monster closed in on her and got to what seemed about a yard away and instantly, tiny needles covered it's body like a barrier. The new porcupine version of it swooped back and charged forward at it's prey.  
  
As soon as it was about to ram into her, she side-stepped out of the way as if it had been nothing. The insect/porcupine monster continued to fly forward aimlessly as it missed it's target. While it was still off guard, the mysterious girl ran up a yard behind it and jumped up into the air, holding up staff above her head ready to strike. Right before she came down the smash the monster into pieces, a luminous deep purple blade appeared suddenly on the end of her staff transforming it instantly into a scythe. With this new weapon, she easily cleaved her way right through the body of the monster and it fell into two pieces, then turned into smoke.  
  
She landed softly and rose back to full stature and stood again with the scythe, then the blade disappeared as quickly as it came.  
  
Then, Rey's vision blurred out and he passed out to the ground.  
  
Rey awoke in a pool of cool water, his head out on the sand, and e looked up to see the sun and the Moon. He sat up quickly to figure out what was going on, and he saw two things at once that made him duck back down into the water, the mysterious girl, and his clothes draped on a tree. With a blush he retreated back to the water, which alarmed the girl that he was awake. She turned around and held two spheres, one in each hand.  
  
She tossed the ruby one to Rey and he caught it while still trying to cover up with one hand. She continued to hold on to the other sphere that illuminated with a dark purple light that filled the area.  
  
Rey sunk back in shock, still covering himself of course, at the sudden change of events. He had found the first other Dragoon now and things were starting to look up.  
  
"Hi" he began "I'm Rey, the Red-Eyed Dragoon. It seems that we are on a similar path"  
  
"Maybe" she said looking into his eyes with a cold stare, and Rey realized that he was right about her eyes being black, "Maybe not. But for now it seems that fate has woven us into a similar path for now. I am Olandra, the Dark Dragoon, now please put something on." she turned around and Rey got out of the water quickly and redressed.  
  
Seems that this adventure could be taking a turn for the better Rey thought to Bartham  
  
Or perhaps a turn for the worse Bartham joked back  
Author: FINALLY FINISHED THIS CHAPTER..ARGH!!! Anyway, I've finally added a new character, go me, and she is DARK, yes there will be a Jade..maybe. but for now, we have Olandra and Rey, the first of the new Dragoons.  
  
Also, do not confuse Dark Dragoon with Bone Dragoon or evil Dragoon, I just think it is annoying to say Darkness Dragoon. 


	8. A Lesson in the Arts

Author: Somehow, I'm gonna find a way to write on a regular basis, so if you don't already hate me and have decided not to review anymore (if you could be so cruel) keep reading, the story isn't done. BWAHAHA you will read forever as I post 2 weeks at a time..behold my sinister plot.  
  
Okay, so the next Dragoon has appeared.FUN more personalities to play with and more pasts and futures to torment.MWAHAHA the SECOND part of my sinister plot. I am very pleased with Olandra's weapon, but she also has a few other tricks.  
Chapter 7: A Lesson in the Arts  
  
Rey and Olandra sat on the bank of the oasis, the sun was setting rapidly behind them, and the scorching air was beginning to cool down. The new companions had decided to depart tomorrow for Deningrad, Olandra said that it was the last human stronghold against Bellana's forces, and they could think about what to do next there.  
  
The air hung dull, saturated with silence, it seemed to be driving Rey almost crazy, but Olandra was treasuring the silence as if it were golden. Olandra had her hand on her weapon at all times, and was always looking off into the distance on eternal guard. After what felt like an eternity of silence, Rey pierced the air with words.  
  
"So, Olandra" he began, being somewhat afraid that she would cut his head off before he could transform "How long have you been a Dragoon?"  
  
Olandra didn't answer, she merely looked off into the distance some more, ignoring her new "partner".  
  
"Olandra?" Rey broke the silence again. Still he received no response from the statue of a companion. "Fine then" Rey got up and walked around, still close to the oasis.  
  
Drake. Olandra whispered quietly, no one could here even though it wasn't meant for human ears. Drake are you there?  
  
Of course Olandra came back a voice I am always with you, you know that  
  
I know, Thought Olandra I know.  
  
Is something troubling you? The entity inquired Does it have to do with the boy?  
  
Yes, it does She returned I don't understand why you wanted me to join him, he is so immature. Besides, you know about the quest I am on that you swore to help me with.  
  
I am fully aware of our quest Olandra The voice guided but matters of fate take priority over personal vendettas, I believe that you already knew that. Besides, you never know, you may find that in doing this, you will be brought closer to your first goal.  
  
Yes.but Drake She complained Even you can tell that he is not fit to be a leader of just the two of us, let alone another five Dragoons. He is far from ready for that challenge.  
  
Patience Olandra The entity said He is being guided by my good friend Bartham, that boy will become a superb leader, I know that much. Bartham is indeed very wise, he will sculpt the Red-Eyed warrior into the leader Soa meant him to be. For now, you may as well make things easier and not be so cold.  
  
That I can't promise She returned  
  
At least try, he suggested you don't have to bring up conversation, just answer his questions with full answers and be nice.-ish  
  
Fine Olandra conceded.  
  
She removed herself from her slight trance, to find the Red-Eye checking through their combined inventory examining everything.  
  
There may be hope yet for him She thought to Drake  
  
Told you he replied  
  
Shortly afterwards, Rey dropped the one bottle of sun rhapsody that they had and the liquid drained into the sand.  
  
"Oops" was all he had to say. The look on Olandra's face changed to disbelief then pure anger.  
  
Or maybe he is just a bumbling idiot who will get us killed She screamed in her mind. Drake didn't respond, but she didn't expect him to.  
  
Rey caught the look on Olandra's face and started to worry a little bit about the abilities of the ooze that he had just dropped.  
  
"You Fool" Olandra scolded, containing her wrath enough to keep her hand away from her spirit "Do you realize what you have just done?"  
  
"Yes." Rey replied "and no, you see I realize that that was our only bottle, but Bartham didn't tell me exactly what it did"  
  
Olandra clapped her hand against her head he can't be our leader she thought to herself, and once again Drake did not bother to answer.  
  
"Sun Rhapsodies are used to restore magical energy" She stated, peeved but not too pissed "now we basically only have magic for as much as our stamina allows."  
  
"Oh, then that's not too much of a problem then" Rey shrugged. He then went back to the other items, being extremely careful with the rest of them.  
  
Olandra's eyes widened at this "Not too much of a problem?!?! How can you say that?!?" She nearly screamed.  
  
Rey turned back to her "Well, I rarely use magic at all"  
  
Rey turned back to his inventory check and left Olandra dumbfounded. She contained her anger and slowly walked off. As she passed by, she picked up her staff and walked a little ways into the distance, she needed to kill something now, and Drake would be very unhappy if it was Rey.  
  
Geez, what's with her Rey reached out to Bartham Why did she get so angry, it was just a stupid magic potion, it's not like we needed it for healing  
  
You must understand Rey Bartham replied You do not know the conditions of her fighting style. You yourself rely more on fighting skill than magical power, but she may rely heavily on magic or even a balance of both. That Sun Rhapsody would've been helpful if she does fight that way.  
  
Even so, magic isn't even that tiring, I barely felt anything after used that Inferno Punch on that Bone guy Rey excused. Do you honestly think that someone relying on magic to fight would use such a basic spell? Bartham questioned  
  
Basic, why do you say that Rey shot back  
  
You're Inferno Punch was merely a gathering of fire energy into one concentrated blow. That my friend is a basic spell, anyone that uses magic heavily will mostly use much more consuming attacks. Bartham informed.  
  
Oh, okay. Rey stopped at that beginning to feel the stupidity of what he had just done.  
  
Olandra walked back to the oasis looking much calmer and somewhat tired. She walked over to a tree and set down her weapon, then she came over to Rey and handed him some nuggets of gold.  
  
"Put these with everything else" She said, still somewhat peeved at the amateur Dragoon.  
  
Rey looked at the large nuggets with wide eyes "Where-How-What?!?!?!" Words were at a loss for him  
  
Olandra rolled her eyes "When monsters die, there organs transform into nuggets of gold. Remember that, we will be needing a lot of it."  
  
Rey looked at the nuggets, still in disbelief that it had once been an organ for a monster. He put it away with the rest of the items and looked over to Olandra who had just sat down next to a tree.  
  
Dawn faded away and Rey started a fire, using this time as practice for "basic" spells. He sat there, next to the pile of wood for what felt like eternity, his hand outstretched pointing to the pile. In his mind he focused on the element of fire from all around him, much like before. Around his hand, there gathered a small ball of flame like he had done before, that much was easy, the next part is what he kept screwing up on. He imagined in his mind, the flames making their way from his hand onto the small bundle of sticks, and he felt the warmth from his hand fade away. He opened his eyes to see if it had made it's way to the logs, but he had had no such luck.  
  
"Curse it ALL!!!!" Rey screamed as he shot up to his feet. Behind him he heard a slight snicker coming from Olandra. "What's so funny?" He demanded  
  
"That you, the Red-Eyed Dragoon, fated leader of all seven mighty Dragoons, the one that should lead us to victory; can't even light a bunch of logs with your magic" She mocked  
  
"What, it's not like you could do any better" He whined  
  
"Oh really?!?!" The challenge interested her slightly "I'll show you" she rose her hand into the air, palm face up. Above her hand materialized a small ball of black matter. Without even a slight movement, the orb took off zigzagging all around putting Rey into a sense of awe. Again without a movement, the orb stopped over the pile of logs and plummeted downwards sending splinters in all directions.  
  
"I believe I just did better" She mocked.  
  
Rey bit his lip and swallowed his pride, he knew he was beaten, but the hard part wasn't accepting that fact, it was what was to come up next. "Olandra."  
  
"Yes?" she returned  
  
"Could you." This is gonna hurt he thought "teach me how to use my magic like that"  
  
"I don't know." She continued to mock him, having too much fun. "I think that it is quite interesting to see you get mad because you can't"  
  
OLANDRA!! Drake's voice boomed inside her head teach the poor boy. You KNOW that you have to, any weaknesses cannot be afforded if you even want to think about beating Bellana, or even.  
  
Okay okay.I will She gave in.  
  
"Fine, I will teach you, but only because our team will suffer otherwise. Go get some more and then we will start." She said  
  
Rey was surprised by the recent turn of events. "Thank you." He got out right before he went to get some more wood Maybe she's not so bad afterall.  
  
The two sat down in front of the freshly assembled bundle of logs. The sun had long set and the sky was shrouded in darkness aside from the eerie glow of the Moon That Never Sets. Rey looked eagerly to Olandra ready to get his first real lesson in the use of magic.  
  
"Okay" Olandra began "let's begin. Magic in it's raw form is very volatile and can react easily such as exploding flames, or freezing ice that moves along whatever it touches freezing it instantly. This is the magic that channel into our spells; pure, raw, straight magical energy. In that form however, it can only be focused to one specific spot, thus in that form it is used for basic spells. More advanced spells manipulate it to the whim of the caster, that is what makes Dragoon magic special. In order for the magic to be used properly for these more 'advanced' spells; such as a simple fireball or a complex maze burning threads; the magic must be 'ignited' by your will. So, let's begin. Channel that pure fire energy around your hand like you did before."  
  
Rey did as she commanded, the concepts seemed reasonable enough, yet he didn't feel as if he needed to understand the concepts that much. He shut his eyes and began to focus on the pure fire energy so out of nowhere.  
  
"Stop." Olandra interrupted "open your eyes, in mid battle you cannot close your eyes else your opponent take advantage of you."  
  
Rey nodded obediently and once again tried to focus on the energy gathering quickly in his palm. He had never really looked at it before, but it looked dazzling. A red orb of light mixed with orange flames that he saw, but knew it was not the same flame of that of normal fire. This was pure fire magic. Rey could only sit in awe.  
  
"Good" Olandra complemented "The easy part is over, now for the.fun part."  
  
Rey gulped a little and nodded signaling he was ready for the next part.  
  
"Alright, time to get down to business" Olandra stated slightly more stern. "Now, with your soul, set off the energy. Try to provoke it from within you, but also focus on the shape you want it to take and what you plan to do with it after it does. That is the key to full manipulation.you must know your spell before you even initiate it. Plan it well and it will work, now.ignite the energy.  
  
Rey was still lightly confused but he tried anyway. He probed his soul looking for whatever he needed to ignite the flames in the energy in front of him. He searched his inside over and over and over again, each time finding nothing because he still did not know what to look for. He strained himself trying to figure out what he needed but every time he came up empty.  
  
Bartham Rey called out for the dragon not knowing what knowing what else to do Bartham, can you help me? I don't know how to do this, how do I 'ignite' this energy?  
  
I'm glad you asked Rey Bartham's voice filled Rey's mind. As a team we can do this, now.focus deep within yourself. Find the reason you fight, your will to learn this technique. What is it that you fight for? These ideals, these passions.that is what will ignite the magic Rey, that is what will transform this into FIRE!!!  
  
I understand Rey responded  
  
Then why do I fight? Rey questioned himself What do I hold dear? My friends and family are all gone, all those I loved and cared about. The ones I couldn't protect..THAT'S IT!!!I fight to protect those around me, dear to me or not. It is now my obligation as a Dragoon, no a warrior, no.not even; as a human being. That's why I fight now, now I have a purpose  
  
Suddenly the small pool of energy on Rey's hand lit brightly and then transformed instantly into a small sphere of fire. Rey's eyes went wide in surprise.he actually did it, he actually learned magic. Olandra looked pleased with Rey, he had learned quicker than she expected.  
  
"Good job" She said "You got the hang of it far quicker than I imagined. Now, light the fire so we can cook, I'm hungry"  
  
Rey tossed the small blazing orb onto the stack of wood, it lit the wood quickly and sprang up as a blazing campfire. "Alright, so who's hunting?" Rey asked  
  
"You" Olandra said as she laid down and rolled over "After all, I did teach you magic, it's the least you can do"  
  
"Okay fine" Rey returned. He walked over to his sword and began on his way back into the desert. He stopped short and turned back to admire the flame. "Thanks Olandra" was all he said, then he went out to gather food.  
Author: YAY!!!! I've finally finished. Now my friend who refuses to review [scowls and eyes turn red] will stop bugging me.for now. Anyway, that is the basics of magic in my world. Soon will be the story of Olandra..YAY twisted pasts BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!! {smacks self to regain sanity.temporarily] please review. 


	9. A Second Black Hunter

Author: I just want to thank the few of you that reviewed, you are my official favorites, and I would name all of you for the "All Awesomeness" Award, but I can't remember you all and I'm too lazy to look through my reviews. So, Stryker, Aerena, and Freefall Insanity.thank you for your reviews, you made me feel SOO much better. And to the rest of you, shame.  
  
Chapter 8: A Second Black Hunter  
  
Olandra sat awake amidst the cool desert air, looking upon the boy that was destined to be a leader. The ironic chill of the desert night air crept up her spine, trying with no avail to avert her attention.  
  
she wondered to herself about this boy who mastered the basics of magic that had taken her several hours under the watchful gaze of her mother.  
  
Drake's voice eased it's way into her mind, weaving itself through her skull and filling her with a warmth to combat the chilling air. I told you before that he will become a fit leader, but you must believe in him and support him in his role. He has Bartham with him, remember? With the wisdom of that old Dragon, I hold no doubt that he will become great and will lead us through this quest, but my question to you, Olandra, when he grows to the leader that he will no doubt be, will you be ready to be lead?  
  
The last phrase bit through Olandra's mind as a cold reality hit her all to suddenly. Would she?  
  
She felt Drake retreat from her now cluttered mind leaving only a short . Once again she was surrounded by the cold air with her mind full, but this time thinking about herself.  
  
In the back of her mind she could feel Drake's sigh, but she chose to ignore him.  
  
Drake informed her even though he knew she was beyond reason, all he could do was heave another sigh.  
  
She heaved at the Dragon. I, and another sigh from the Dragon.  
  
Rey peered into the darkness that surrounded him and enveloped his sense of sight. Unable to see anything further than his own hand, his curiosity was arisen to where exactly he was.  
  
Out of the quiet that was as thick as the darkness itself emerged a whole chorus ghastly voices unlike those he had ever heard before. At first it was quiet and faint but within a few moments it erupted into Rey's ears, causing him to stagger backwards lightly.  
  
With a short grunt, Rey re-braced himself and his hand fell immediately to his left side to grab the hilt of his sword. But where the hilt of his sword should have been, Rey's hand merely felt air. A little shaken, Rey went to his right hoping that he had carelessly armed himself as a left- handed fighter, yet once again he felt only air. Now more confused and annoyed than shaken, Rey dug his hands into his pockets seeking the pulsating jewel that would make up for his lack of arms. But just like his weapon, his Dragoon Spirit was no where to be found.  
  
Suddenly, the demonic chorus rose to a new level of volume, the diminished fifth interval dug itself into the young Dragoons ears causing him to fall to his knees in agony holding his ears. It took all Rey had to keep from screaming out loud and the chorus continued on and on with the demonic interval.  
  
(Author: By the way, for those of you that don't know, a diminished fifth interval/ augmented fourth interval, is two notes that naturally sound awful together and are located a certain distance apart. It also used to be called the "Devil's Tone". If you must get an idea of how it sounds, find a keyboard, or any other instrument, and play a "C" and an "F#" at the same time. Now back to Rey's suffering)  
  
As the sound continued to pour, filtered, into Rey's ears, it became more and more unbearable to take. After countless minutes of pure agony, Rey began to build up a tolerance to the sound and the pain began to subside as he grew used to the sound. Just when the intense pain fell away and Rey began to regain his strength however, an acrid scent began to pour into Rey's nostrils. It stank of sulphur, fesses, and decayed flesh all rolled into one hideous scent, and seemed as if it would burn away each and every hair in Rey's nostril one at a time.  
  
At this point the pain was unbearable and between the scent and the now louder chorus, and all reason and dignity left Rey. He fell to his back and rolled around in a fetal position, hands over his ears and screaming out senseless jargon, writhing in agony.  
  
He suffered around, alone, for what seemed like an eternity, void of all reason, and becoming a beast, until suddenly, it all stopped. Rey snapped back to himself in a few moments and was on his knees looking around, eyes wide open, looking for some explanation of what happened and some hope of escaping this Hell he was subject to.  
  
"Having fun Rey?" A voice as cold as polar stones penetrated the darkness and cut into Rey's weakened spirit.  
  
"Wh-who's there?" Rey asked, shaken and beaten from his recent trauma. "Who are you? Where am I?"  
  
"Does it really matter where we are Rey? And as for who.you do know who I am" A shady silhouette materialized through the darkness.  
  
"Cid?!?!?! Why are you here?" Rey exclaimed out of surprise "Nevermind that, help me up will ya" Hope shot through Rey's being at the sight of his dearly departed friend.  
  
"Why should I?" Cid retorted "You didn't help me!!"  
  
"What do you mean?!? I already told you, I tried to save you!" said a now agitated Rey  
  
"Explain to me how you can try to save a person that you purposely attacked and tried to kill?" asked a pretty pissed Cid  
  
"What do you mean, tried to kill?" The shock eminent in Rey's voice, nearly brought him to his feet. "I tried to save you, I didn't try to kill anyone. The only one I killed that day was Kamuy, only him. He was the one that attacked you all and killed the population of Furni, not me!!!" The shock was replaced by anger, and that exploded at Cid for that outrageous accusation.  
  
The same anger quickly spread over Cid's face and the ghostly silhouette turned a slight color of red. "What do you mean? I lived it myself!!! I will never forget that day; screams of all the people of Furni, not just the men, but the women and children too. The smell of blood filling the shallow caves, the staining color of the precious life liquids all over the walls. And above all else, above all the screaming, there was you; laughing, and drunk with the power that you received from...this!!!" The anger in his voice reached a climax as he pulled out a hand size round ruby, as soon as it came into sight Rey gasped and staggered back a step.  
  
Rey's mind exploded with fear, confusion, and doubt. "NOOO!!!!"  
  
Rey clutched his head and collapsed to the ground in a spasm, his world, crashing down around him.  
  
"You finally remember, murderer" The last words were like a slap to the face for Rey, he never imagined that he would have done something so horrible, but it was the only logical conclusion.he killed all of those around him.his friends, those who he considered family.  
  
Rey's world spun and spun as the last words Cid said echoed through his head. 'murderer', the word was like a knife, it stabbed his heart, pulled back and just repeated the process. Rey's vision began to blur as his world continued to spin and spin.  
  
"Don't worry though," Cid said with a sinister smile on his face "you won't have to suffer too long. I will come for you soon, mark that, and when I come.I will kill you. Watch.wait for me.murderer."  
  
Rey's vision focused a little at the shock of those words, just in time to see the Dragoon Spirit in Cid's hand glow and light explode all around his friend. From the depths of the light, emerged a voice that filled Rey with fear. "I'm coming for you Rey!!!!!". Then, some of the light formed into a large hand and reached out for Rey, filling him with fear.  
  
As the hand of light continued to get closer to him, Rey let out a scream.  
  
Olandra returned to the campsite from her walk, just in time to see Rey sit up with fear induced speed. Sweat poured out from all parts of him, eyes wide open looking all around. He quickly frantically began to search his pockets and outer garments with haste, his quest ended only when he held his Dragoon Spirit in his hand. He heaved a sigh of relief and allowed the faint glow of the ruby wipe away all of his fears and return to common sense.  
  
Olandra could only "tsk" at her "leader's" childish behavior.  
  
I'll never know how this.child has the faith of Dragons to lead a group of warriors to save the world, let alone be part of the group. She thought to herself. However, her recent walk did not erase the words of Drake that still hung in her head every time she thought of the boy. "Will you be ready to follow."  
  
Olandra swore under her breath at the fact that she couldn't forget those words. The murmuring caught Rey's attention and the young Dragoon looked up at her.  
  
"Oh, hi Olandra" a false sense of security was in his voice. "I didn't see you there. Can't sleep?"  
  
Drake commanded  
  
Olandra covered her face with a fake smile   
  
Olandra could hear a slight snicker from the Dark Dragon   
  
The Dark Dragoon seceded.  
  
"You there Olandra?" The young Red-Eye asked?  
  
Olandra heaved a sigh, she knew it was going to be a long night. She walked over to where Rey was sitting.  
  
"I took a walk to clear my head" she said, ice coating her voice.  
  
"Maybe I should try that too, it would certainly help me calm down right now." Rey replied.  
  
"Why? Did the brave Dragoon have a nightmare" her voice told Rey that she wasn't joking around, and the young Red-Eye began to get angry.  
  
"Shut up!! It wasn't any ordinary nightmare" his expression changed from growing anger, to a blank look that held fear, confusion, stress, and depression, yet expressed none of them to the eye. "this was beyond just a nightmare"  
  
Olandra gained interest, not from what Rey said, but it was the voice tone that intrigued her. "What do you mean?"  
  
Rey heaved a sigh "I have had nightmares before.and none of them felt this real, nor where they so utterly frightening. This one was just so real that it had to have been more that just a normal nightmare."  
  
"Really?" Olandra walked over and sat down closer to the troubled youth. "Tell me about this dream"  
  
"Ok" Rey said. "I started out in a dark room and I couldn't really see much at all. Everything was pitch black, I could barely see my own hand in front of me. At first, I went for my sword, hoping that I could protect myself if the need came, but it wasn't on me. A little shaken, I went for my Dragoon Spirit, I was sure nothing there would be too strong for me, even without the sword.but that too, was missing. At that point I was pretty freaked out, but not too shaken. Out of nowhere though, there was this hideous sound, like a hundred screaming souls. But just like any sound, I began to get used to it.but as soon as I did, the area started to wreak of something just awful. The combination was so horrible that eventually I fell to my knees. I was in terrible pain, total agony all over.then, I heard a familiar voice, and the noise and smell just vanished. The voice revealed itself as my dead friend Cid, and I thought he had saved me and was going to help me, but." Rey drifted off as if the next part was painful even to think about.  
  
"But what?" Olandra pried, slightly shocked at her own sympathy, as she urged the boy she had been so angry about to continue telling her of this event.  
  
"It turns out that he was only there to condemn me." He said void of all emotion but pity "He accused me of destroying my home village with my Dragoon Spirit"  
  
*But I am certain that you did not, after all it was my power that I lent you* a voice that Rey recognized as Bartham's spoke out of his now brightly glowing spirit. Olandra picked up on it because of the sudden glow from the Spirit.  
  
*If that is true, then what does the boy speak of* Drake's voice asked from it's Spirit catching Rey slightly offguard with the thought of another person having a talking spirit, but it did make sense.  
  
"But, It makes no sense. You see, Cid was long dead before I even used this Spirit, there is no way he would have known, I had to have." His voice trailed off in shame.  
  
*Rey!!! You did not do that. I would have recognition of the matter if it had happened.*  
  
"Then how could he know?" Rey asked  
  
*It doesn't matter, just know that it was not your fault.* The Red-Eyed Dragon said.  
  
"Think of it this way." Olandra added "I am sure that this 'dream' was not normal, it may have been magically induced."  
  
"Huh?" Rey questioned  
  
"Magically induced." Olandra restated "It's a technique that is rarely used, using magic, one can control another's dreams however they like. The problem with the technique is that it must be instituted at close range, extremely close range. It was often done by merely tapping on a persons forehead, and is most effective when.the victim is sleeping. But, then again, it might not be. In any case, since we have time, I would like to hear about this Furni.  
  
"Oh, ok." Rey pulled himself out of his current 'rut' to tell the story of his beloved town.  
  
"And that's it." Rey wrapped up his tale and sat back waiting for his audience's reply.  
  
Olandra sat breathless after hearing about the ruthless slaughter of women and children.  
  
"Well I only think it's fair that you tell me your story in return, or were you just mysteriously born in a desert and raised by a dead, talking dragon?" Rey heard a slight snicker from the Dark Dragoon Spirit.  
  
*Tell him* It urged it's Dragoon.  
  
"Ok fine," She seceded "It all started some time ago in a village called Neet. My mother was a citizen of that village, she was a warrior of great strength that mixed hand to hand combat with the art of magic. She often left the village for a while to gather knowledge of other villages about magic, and she dreamed of finding a group of creatures called 'Winglies' that were said to possess powerful magic. After a visit to Tiberoa to learn of their magic, and what they knew of the Winglies, she returned to her home, looking forward to seeing her family and friends. What she found however, was city of flames, she immediately rushed in, seeking survivors, and hoping for a glimpse of whatever had done it. She found only two survivors, a blind little girl, and a wounded man. When she asked the man what had happened, all he could say was two words.'Black Monster' then he died. My mother escorted the little girl to a hospital in Deningrad, and then left her in an orphanage. Afterwards, she gathered all the information she could about the Black Monster from the Deningrad library first, then from every village she could find. She searched and searched, gathering all the information she could until she was content, then she started to hone her skills to a mastery. She spent years searching for the Monster, but she could never find him, yet she still pursued, and still trained. Eventually, she began to fear that she might not ever find the Monster in her lifetime, so she went through all the villages she could find, until she found a man that she was comfortable having children with. She bore one child, and that was enough. She trained me in her art, and charged me to find the Black Monster and never rest until I do. She also told me to do like she did if I was ever not fit to fight the Black Monster, or might not live long enough, to conceive one child and teach them. When I was ready, my mother let me go and she stayed with my father. My mother died peacefully soon after I left, and my father died soon after from the grief. I lived alone in the wilderness, so I was not affected by the world wide attack of Bellana. Eventually I found Drake and worked the power he gave me into my style. While traveling, I ended up in this desert and figured I would train, then, I found you. And that's it, I am after the Black Monster, and I will continue to hunt him after this adventure."  
  
Now it was Rey's turn to be silent in shock.  
  
*My heart feels for you Olandra.but remember that our quest as Dragons and Dragoons is more important than personal vendettas, Rey's village was actually burned down by that Bone Dragoon, but he will not let that keep him from focusing on our quest to defeat Bellana* Bartham said.  
  
"Yeah, I won't even that get in my w.WAIT A SEC, that creepy dude is the guy that killed my father?!?!?! How long did you know, and why didn't you tell me?" Rey exploded.  
  
*I've known all along, remember? I was in the sword your father used to fight him. Just remember, revenge can wait. Now, both of you get some sleep, we move out tomorrow.* Bartham commanded.  
  
*I agree* Drake repeated.  
  
Author: Ok, now you have the story of Olandra, and her pursuit of the Black Monster. Yay!!! Another character out to get the Black Monster, she may have liked Dart a lot they have something in common, but she acts a lot like Rose.oh wait, they would kill each other (well chances are that Rose would kill Olandra.but hey, who cares?) Anyway, PLEASE R&R. 


	10. Crossing Death Frontier

Author: [bows multiple times] PLEASE forgive me!!!!!! I'm ssssssssssooooooooooo sorry this took so long, I've been enjoying my summer break so much that I forgot to write. But at least I am sooooo there's no reason to try and kill me...hehe hehe.  
  
Ok Striker, Olandra didn't grow up with Dart, as a matter of fact, she never went to Neet while her mom was alive. Her mother was the one that lived in Neet, but she left often, if any of them knew Dart, it was her, but she didn't know him very well. And Rose only burned Neet once, Olandra's mom started her hunt for the Black Monster around the same time as Dart could have (as soon as she saw it in ruins). If u are still confused, send it in another review.  
  
Aerena, there is nothing wrong with breeding for revenge, women can be that way at times if there is something large enough that they refuse to let go of...j/k. But Obviously Olandra's mom loved the man that fathered her child or else she wouldn't have stayed with him after Olandra was fully trained.  
  
Omni Dragoon, please enlighten me on what ur review meant.  
  
Well here goes, the chapter that was lllllllllllloooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggg over do.  
  
Chapter 9: Crossing Death Frontier  
  
Dawn's first light filled Rey's sleepy eyes, jerking him to full consciousness slowly, but surely. Rey looked around the oasis that he and Olandra had used as a resting point, everything seemed fine and ordinary. The dim light over the distant mountains reflected in the pure blue pond in the middle of the barren waste land.  
  
Rey turned to see Olandra putting the last touches on packing up the inventory. She was packing everything in two sacks and didn't even seem to notice Rey waking up.  
  
"When we're out there, your responsible for yourself" Olandra said, then raised her head to show off a seemingly expressionless face. "I've divided our inventory into two packs, there is an even amount of each item in both packs. If you find anything out there, it's yours. If you run out of stuff then I'll help you out if it's absolutely necessary. Also, remember to conserve your magic, you wasted all of our Sun Rhapsody before so you can't replenish it, and we probably won't be able to rest unless we find shelter. And make sure that you grab gold from every monster that you kill."  
  
Still struggling to get fully awake, Rey responded "Ok, but what's with the fend for yourself attitude, I thought we were a team."  
  
"We are" Olandra replied as she tied off the second inventory sack. "But it makes it easier if we both have a set of items, because no one will know that we need to use an item better than ourselves." Then she tossed one of the sacks and Rey. "Oh, and we only have a few Angel's Prayers so try not to fall unconscious."  
  
The weight of the pack hitting his chest rocked Rey to full consciousness. He gave a last yawn, stretched and got up.  
  
"Here" Olandra tossed Rey about 4 empty bottles "Fill these with water, and drink as much as you possibly can before we go."  
  
Rey caught three of the bottles and bent down to pick up the last one. Then he went over to the oasis pond and began to fill up the bottles.  
  
Rey finished with the bottles and handed two of them to Olandra. She took them and placed them in her inventory sack and placed the whole thing like a sash across her chest. Rey did the same and they both went over to the pond to take final drinks before they set off.  
  
The two warriors set off to the North heading the two days journey toward The Last Human Fort of Deningrad. The Moon That Never Sets above them and half the sun above the mountains before them , they set off into the desert.  
  
Bellana sat in her chambers still fixated on the progress of the now two warriors, by use of the Moon. She sat patiently with her sword next to her throne awaiting the return of Jacus with the replacement Violet Bone Dragoon.  
  
"So, they are heading for that cursed city of Deningrad, no matter, they cannot escape from my power, not even there." She said aloud to herself, confident in her power.  
  
Then came a loud knock on the large double doors of her chambers, and the voice Jacus requesting permission to enter her chambers. Bellana used her magic to open the door from her throne and Jacus walked in with the man who was to be the new recruit. A sick smile spread across her face as she looked over her new Bone Dragoon.  
  
"So, are you willing to serve me in exchange for the power I've given you?" Bellana asked.  
  
Shadow masked the warrior's face. "Yes, my queen"  
  
"Good then your first assignment will be to take care of a certain nuisance." Bellana said, the smile was still on her face. She used her magic to manipulate the large crystal ball and showed the new recruit his targets. "You will intercept them at the edge of Death Frontier, but until then make yourself comfortable."  
  
"Thank you" the violet Bone Dragoon bowed and placed his right arm on his left shoulder as he backed out of the room.  
  
"A bit too formal for my tastes" Jacus said as soon as he knew the violet Bone Dragoon was out of hearing range.  
  
"Actually, I think I may have all of you do it" Bellana said and began to laugh.  
  
Jacus gave a fake laugh "Your joking right?" Jacus asked still trying to force the laugh  
  
"Maybe" Bellana replied. She allowed herself to laugh for a little while before getting to business. "Jacus, it's about time we dispatch Hannah"  
  
"Right away my queen" Jacus bowed and tried to imitate the Violet Bone Dragoon, awkwardly. "You can't actually expect us to do this" he said right before leaving.  
  
"Be assured Jacus, I may be willing to kill women and children, but I'm not cruel to my own warriors, unless they second guess me. Anyway, don't forget to dispatch Hannah. And be sure to give the new recruit a basic tutorial of magic." Bellana said  
  
"Your word is my command" Jacus said as he stood to full stature (being very glad to do so) and turned around leaving the queen in her chamber once more allowing her to continue with her ever watchful spying on the Dragoons.  
  
The sun sat directly over head in the sky looming over the two Dragoons bathing and scorching them with it's heat. They had been walking for slightly over 12 hours, but they knew they had another solid 12 ahead of them. Rey looked as though he was going to die at any minute even though his water supply had held well, and due to Olandra's cruel guidance in water intake, his water supply held out and he had just enough water to keep walking, but not to quench his thirst. Olandra on the other hand walked as if nothing was the matter, it was obvious that either she had done this before or she was really good at faking it.  
  
Rey wiped the sweat from his brow and looked into the horizon of endless desert. he thought willing Bartham to overhear.  
  
Bartham replied  
  
Rey pleaded.  
  
Bartham reminded Rey of that fact, but could tell Rey was already trying to think up an excuse.  
  
Rey complained.  
  
Bartham conceded knowing full well it was a mistake.  
  
Rey focused on his magic in it's purest form hoping that it wouldn't have too much heat property. He molded it with his mind around his body like a coating. His ploy worked a bit and repelled a little of the heat, but Rey was grateful anyway. From beside him he heard Olandra sigh at his disobedience and braced himself at the inevitably on coming lecture about not wasting magic. But it never came, she just continued to walk without saying anything, leaving Rey very satisfied.  
  
I Olandra scowled hoping to confide in the one being she had ever learned to trust. I sat there and told him directly not to use any magic unless it was necessary and to use a little even at that point. He is a complete moron and I can't believe you want me to work with him, he can't even follow simple directions.  
  
Drake responded   
  
Olandra said.  
  
Drake reminded her.  
  
She nearly screamed in her head.  
  
Drake said   
  
Olandra didn't respond because she knew it was true and she was not ready to let go of it. All she did was walk.  
  
The day proceeded as such. Olandra and Rey talking only when they had to, Bartham and Drake lecturing the Dragoons, and fights with little immaterial enemies every now and then. The Dragoons continued to walk and walk until about sundown when they took a short break to sit and refill their nearly depleted water bottles at a nearby oasis. Rey was excited because he could finally quench his thirst, and his magic was beginning to grow thin.  
  
Both Dragoons sat down on the warm sand and looked up at the sky. The sky nearly bled orange, yellow, and red, and all Rey could do was wish that he could sit under the sky in Furni with his father and watch the sunset like he did oh so long ago. The sky brought back what memories he had of Furni before the attack, but even as painful as they were, he could not tear away his gaze. Tears worked their way to his eyes and fought to get out, but he kept them there like inmates.  
  
A few feet away, Olandra sat at the trunk of a small palm tree looking up at the same sky. Remembering all the lonely nights that she spent in her hunt, and wondering why she could not pursue the monster that destroyed her mother's home. Memories flowed into her mind about the endless conversations she had had on those lonely nights with her one companion. A slight smile forced it's way onto her face as she thought of the sound of Drake's voice in her mind, the only thing that had made her time alone bearable.  
  
Olandra heaved a large sigh and Rey knew instantly what it meant even before she said it.  
  
"It's time we move on, we've already spent long enough resting and we have full water bottles. Plus the sun is going down so it should cool off, we should be able to get to about the end of the Soa forsaken place soon. With that she got up and grabbed her weapon, and Rey did the same.  
  
They headed north again driven by the fact that they were almost done with this desert and then it was just one day's walk over plains and fields until they reached Deningrad.  
  
The next few hours went by quickly, the sun fully set and the night sky stretched as far as the eye could see. After a few hours, plants began to become more frequent and the air started getting less and less dry. At this sight Rey's eyes filled with light, and his pace began to quicken. Olandra also was happy at the sight and quickened her pace to keep up with Rey's.  
  
The desert landscape continued to decline until there was no longer even sand underneath their feet. Rey turned around to see the desert that they had just crossed and held his head high with pride.  
  
"Come on, let's find shelter for the night. Tomorrow we're going to Deningrad." Olandra urged.  
  
Olandra walked off a little and Rey turned to follow her shortly afterwards. As they walked around looking for anything that could be used as a possible shelter, a large shadow, black as ink crept slowly behind them. They continued to walk without noticing the eerie phenomenon until it covered them in the pitch darkness.  
  
"What the!?!?" Rey exclaimed, Olandra thought the same thing but said nothing.  
  
On instinct the two Dragoons started to run hoping to get out of whatever it was, but the shadow sped up and continued to keep up with them keeping them surrounded in it's darkness.  
  
Out of the corner of his eye he saw the dark blue light of Olandra's Dragoon spirit and felt it was time to do the same. He reached in his pocket and grabbed the Red Eyed Dragoon Spirit, he felt it's energy in the palm of his hand and flow over his body. Within seconds he was on wings and covered in the crimson armor of the Red Eyed Dragoon. He took off and flew forward, hoping to escape the shadow with his new speed, and after a few seconds he saw the landscape about him once more.  
  
He saw Olandra, who had stopped a few feet away from the shadow and levitated in the air facing it. He veered over to it and stopped next to her, drawing his weapon and turning around when he stopped. The two Dragoons hovered in the air weapons poised and ready for battle, the fatigue from their journey having disappeared for now. The shadow stopped dead in it's tracks but there was no sign of the cause nor what it actually was. Nevertheless, Olandra and Rey didn't move from where they were.  
  
In an instant, the shadow jumped from the ground and charged the Dragoons, neither had time to move and the shadow enveloped them both. Rey felt a crushing blow of impact as the shadow collided into him without yielding an inch, it slammed him into a nearby stone formation, nearly knocking him out. He fell to the ground at the base of the formation and his Dragoon power deactivated. The shadow stayed there and pinned him against it, not allowing him to move.  
  
Olandra hovered there in the air, confused as to why the shadow hadn't even touched her. She came back to focus when she heard a cold, female voice from behind her. "Hello Olandra.."  
  
Olandra turned to see a warrior clad in dark armor similar to what Rey described the Bone Dragoon he fought to wear. The ominous warrior was covered from shoulder to toes with black bone like armor and a sickle attached to a chain in her right hand.  
  
"I am Hannah.."  
  
Author: Okay, It's finally finished. Yay!!!!!! Points for me!!!!! Anyway, sorry for any of you who tried to read my story and send in anonymous reviews, I accidently had it switched to not accept those so I'm sorry.  
  
[sob] The next fight has a sickle with chain against a scythe..I DON'T WANNA!!!!!!!! But I must...[sob]. 


End file.
